


Blood and Crystals

by DragonSorceress22



Series: The Complete Saga [7]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Blood, Experiments, F/M, Gen, Kabuto's still jealous, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-06
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-02-16 09:32:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 29
Words: 21,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2264628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonSorceress22/pseuds/DragonSorceress22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsunade hasn't quite shaken her fear of blood. Orochimaru aims to fix that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Gamble

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place almost three months after Return to Konoha.
> 
> Kotone is not my character, and neither is Naruto or any of the rest of them. Oh, except Ran. Yay. Forgive me for not claiming her XD

Tsunade was sitting at a table in Orochimaru’s hideout shuffling a deck of cards when she saw him walk by.

“Orochimaru, come here,” she called. He stopped and turned back.

“What is it?”

“Come here,” she said again, motioning him over to the table. “I’m gonna teach you how to play poker.”

Orochimaru sat down across from her. “What makes you think I don’t know how to play poker?”

“Because you don’t,” she said, smirking.

He grinned and sat back in the chair. “Okay. Then after that I’ll teach you not to be afraid of blood.”

Tsunade’s face went white. “Uh, that’s… We don’t have to play–”

“Tsunade–”                          

“I’m sure you’re busy,” she said, talking over him. “I’ll just go find Kotone–” She stared to get up but Orochimaru reached across the table and grabbed her wrist.

“Kotone already knows how to play poker, and she’s better at it than you,” he said but Tsunade was no longer meeting his eyes. He was quiet for a moment. Then he let go of her and picked up the cards.

“It’s not poker without stakes. If you win, I won’t bring this up again, but if you lose, you let me help you until the problem is gone.”

“…You don’t even know how to play,” Tsunade said.

“I’m the one who named the terms,” he answered calmly.

She considered the proposition for a few moments before saying with some confidence, “All right. Let’s play.”


	2. Fear

“Ugh!” Tsunade threw her hand of cards onto the table and put her head down in her arms.

“Really Tsunade, I didn’t even know what I was doing,” Orochimaru said. “Are you always this unlucky?”

“Shut up,” she muttered into the table.

“Come on, Tsunade, get up,” he said, gathering up the cards. “We have work to do.”

“W-Wait,” she stammered as he pulled her out of the chair. “You won. Wouldn’t you rather have something else?”

“You can’t change the stakes after the fact; even I know that.”

“But–”

“Come on.”

He led her through the hallways to their bedroom and sat her down in the middle of the bed.

“I… thought we’d go to a lab or something…” Tsunade muttered, looking around nervously.

“No. I have a few ideas about how to do this. We don’t need to be in a lab.”

“What… are you going to–?”

“I’m going to put you under a genjutsu. It’s not real and you know it’s not real. I want you to look at what I show you and try to remember what it was like.”

He didn’t wait for her to answer. Tsunade saw the scene fall into place in her mind – a memory from when she, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya were chunin, before Nawaki or Dan had died. They were on their way to another village for a mission when they came across another young ninja from Konoha who had been badly injured. The genjutsu pulled Tsunade into the scene, and she watched herself through Orochimaru’s eyes. She had tried to help, had run her hands through the blood to find the injuries, had calmly determined there was nothing that could be done. The young Tsunade stepped back and watched the ninja slip away, then wiped the blood from her hands as Jiraiya dug a makeshift grave. Then they continued on their way.

Tsunade was shaking on the bed, staring blankly at the floor.

“Remember how you felt then,” Orochimaru said firmly.

She closed her eyes, drawing her arms and legs in closer, unable to quiet her trembling.

“It’s not even real,” he repeated. “It’s a memory. You barely even knew him. The mission was more important. You need to find that strength again.” He received no further response from her and sighed in disgust before releasing the jutsu.

“Tsunade,” he tried again.

Tsunade shook her head, her eyes still closed tight.

“Don’t you remember how you used to be? Do you remember when that happened?” He waited in vain for her answer. “ _Tsunade–”_

“Yes, I remember,” Tsunade snapped.

“What changed?” he asked sharply.

Tsunade looked away, teeth clenched in anger and fighting tears. He took a moment to compose himself.

“Loss is part of our world,” Orochimaru said. “If everyone shut down like this after seeing a loved one die–”

“Shut up.”

Orochimaru almost smiled. “I’m just trying to understand this, Tsunade. I can’t help you otherwise.”

“I didn’t ask for your help,” Tsunade shot back.

“No, but you did agree–”

“Forget the stupid bet!” she shouted. “Why are you doing this?”

“I’m trying to help you.”

“Well don’t.” She pushed herself off of the bed and went for the door but Orochimaru grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

“No. You _need_ to get over this,” he said.

“It’s none of your business. Now, let go of me, Orochimaru, because I just might pull your arm off if you don’t.”

He immediately recognized a weakness he could exploit. She didn’t feel in control, so she was holding her strength back completely. When he had grabbed her, she hadn’t pulled back at all. Orochimaru tightened his grip and pushed Tsunade back against the wall. He could feel her shaking, the fear dredged up by his genjutsu too deep-set to be so easily forgotten.

“Regardless of our relationship now, we’re still teammates and I _am_ going to help you get over this,” he said. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

“He didn’t want to die!” Tsunade half-shouted, her voice breaking, and Orochimaru had to consciously keep himself for jerking back, startled by the sudden outburst. “Dan… he told me… he didn’t want to die. He wanted me to save him and I just… I just lied to him… I told him he was all right as he…” She broke off and it took her a moment to force herself to continue, only managing a whisper. “I wasn’t good enough… to…”

“That’s ridiculous,” Orochimaru said smoothly, trying to hide how the confession had shaken him. “You’re the most skilled–”

“The most skilled medical ninja in the land of fire,” she finished for him with a quiet bitterness. “Then why is it the only significant medical jutsu I’ve developed can only be used to save myself?”

“…Is this why it bothers you so much?” Orochimaru said slowly. “It reminds you of your failure? Do you honestly think if you had a jutsu like that, this paralyzing fear of yours would go away?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then what, Tsunade?”

“I don’t know!” she shouted.

“Then I’m going to find out, and I’m not letting you out of this room until I do.”

Tsunade looked back up at him, startled, but he had already cast another genjutsu. Suddenly she was alone in an empty and featureless room… and she was covered in blood.

In reality, Tsunade sank to her knees at Orochimaru’s feet, holding her head, her body trembling.

“You are neither on a battlefield nor in front of a wounded or dying comrade, and yet you cannot move,” Orochimaru said quietly. “It may have started as one thing, but after twenty or thirty years all reason has been lost.”

Locked in the illusion, Tsunade could not hear him, but she fought to remember where she was. “Please… Orochimaru… stop it,” she said weakly.

Orochimaru was not listening. He’d cast his mind back to the day the Sannin had taken on three Akatsuki members, and how Tsunade had been so scared when they crawled out of the river. _But she was able to fight even after blood was shed in the cave,_ he thought. _She avoided most of the blood until that ritual jutsu… She must have felt the same way then, thinking she couldn’t save me. But after I recovered and he tried again, she fought more fiercely. She wanted to do something while she still could… She would do anything to keep it from happening again. She was able to forget her fear…_

He looked down at Tsunade, folded up and shivering on the floor, taking in quiet, shaky breaths.

_Is that the answer? If the stakes are high enough, would she continue to overcome it?_ He considered changing the illusion to test his theory, eager to learn more, but he hesitated as he stared down at her. Then he released the jutsu and pulled her to her feet, holding her close against him.

“No more…” Tsunade murmured.

“No,” he answered. “Not today. …Tsunade, I’m sorry.”

She looked up at him, immediately conflicted with disbelief, outrage, and confusion.

“I’m not going to stop.”

Tsunade pushed away from him and turned to hide her face as tears threatened to spill over, biting down hard on the inside of her lips to keep them in check. “Yeah,” she muttered. “I know.”


	3. Experiment

After his first attempt to discover more about Tsunade’s problem, Orochimaru did not bring it up again. It seemed as though he never gave it a second thought, but Tsunade was on edge. It was always in the back of her mind, and she might have begun to avoid Orochimaru had he ever been around. However, Orochimaru had suddenly thrown much of his attention and time into a new experiment, and Tsunade often did not see him until he finally came to bed late each night.

The first several days Orochimaru devoted to research, surrounding himself with books and scrolls and stolen documents. When he was satisfied that he had learned all he could from his existing sources, he went to find Kabuto.

“I need Guren’s DNA,” Orochimaru said, standing in the doorway of a medical lab where Kabuto was working. The room was mostly dark, lit only by rows of blue screens hooked up to an expansive panel that fed into several quietly bubbling test chambers along the walls.

Kabuto looked up from his work. “The crystal user?” he asked.

“I want to start the experiments today,” Orochimaru said.

“…It will take some time,” Kabuto explained slowly. “After that mess with the sanbi–”

Orochimaru laughed. “You still underestimate me, Kabuto.”

“Of course not, Lord Orochimaru,” Kabuto answered, smiling. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Then you’re so arrogant that you don’t believe it.” He left the light of the hallway and moved further into the room. “There is nothing you can hide from me,” he warned. “Bring me Guren’s DNA. Now.”

Blood drained from Kabuto’s face, giving his skin a grey tinge in the glow from the monitors. “Yes… Lord Orochimaru,” he said.

 

Orochimaru found Ran wandering aimlessly through the labyrinthine halls of the hideout. “It’s time to give you what you’re here for,” he said, walking up to her.

“And what’s that?”

“What you want. I can expand your potential for new jutsu.”

Ran scoffed but Orochimaru smiled.

“You don’t trust me,” he stated. “Or is it that you don’t believe that I can?”

“Are you offering me something… or demanding something from me?” Ran asked, her eyes narrowing.

“Both,” he said with a shrug.

“Well?” She waited for him to elaborate but quickly grew frustrated with the answering silence. “What are you demanding?” she insisted, punctuating each word.

He breathed out a quick laugh. “Only your cooperation.”

“Now there’s something I don’t believe,” she said slowly, crossing her arms. “From what I’ve heard, you’re more likely to just take what you want. You don’t need my cooperation.”

“Maybe not.” He was smiling again and Ran unconsciously shifted her weight to lean away from him. “It’s just more conducive to the experiment if the test subject is not under… unnecessary stress.”

“Experiment,” she said flatly. _Of course._

“That’s right. But it’s not the first time I’ve used another’s DNA to transplant a particular change in chakra nature.”

“You can give me another change in chakra nature?” The words tumbled out of Ran’s mouth before she could think, but she was too eager for an answer to be embarrassed about it. She didn’t even care when the smug smirk reappeared on his face.

“Kabuto will tell you where to go,” he told her, already continuing on his way down the hall. “We’ll start tomorrow.”


	4. The First Phase

Ran arrived slightly late to the room Kabuto had pointed out to her the day before. After lying awake all night, she had decided it would be better not to come off as eager as she had been when Orochimaru first offered to give her a new change in chakra nature. _After all,_ she thought as she slipped into the room, _I can’t trust him. I need to keep my guard up._ But in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but indulge in the excitement his proposal stirred in her. Ninjutsu was her specialty – the skill she was most proud of – but even though many gifted ninja were blessed with natural affinities for two chakra natures, she had only ever had her lightning style. She was limited, but now that could change.

“I’ll take you one at a time into the lab for the procedure,” Kabuto was saying to the small crowd of people gathered in the room. “I don’t care about the order. Whoever wants to go first can follow me now.”

Kabuto left the room and, to Ran’s surprise, no one rushed forward to claim the slot. Then she realized, even with all her excitement, she was not moving either. Being first in Orochimaru’s experiment didn’t sound all that appealing.

It took a few seconds of rigid silence after Kabuto was gone before a tall, wiry man slipped out of the group and silently left the room. Almost immediately, another man moved as well. He poked his head out into the hallway and watched the wiry man disappear into the lab then drew back again and leaned against the wall, letting out a quiet sigh.

_I see,_ Ran thought. _He wanted to make sure that guy was volunteering and not running away._ She felt her muscles relax and only then realized how nervous she’d been. All around the room, the tension eased.

 

In the lab, Kabuto instructed his volunteer onto an examination table as Kotone finished laying out a tray of surgical tools. Kabuto immediately picked out a syringe and flicked at it.

“You’re lucky,” he said, speaking to the man without looking at him. “Lord Orochimaru needs you healthy. I’ll be putting you under for the procedure.” He pressed the needle into the man’s arm and Kotone waited for his eyes to close before speaking.

“What’s this experiment?” she demanded.

“Get out, Kotone. I don’t need you for anything.”

Kotone put her hands on the edge of the table and leaned over the unconscious man. Kabuto scowled and dropped the syringe onto the tray. “Get out,” he said again.

“Why am I not supposed to mention any of this to Lady Tsunade?” Kotone asked. Kabuto froze, but a moment later he was selecting a scalpel and thumbing the blade to test its sharpness.

“It’s none of your business,” he said evenly.

Kotone smiled and left the lab without another word, content, for the moment, with what she had learned. Kabuto didn’t know that the experiment was a secret. Maybe he didn’t know what Orochimaru was planning at all. She could find out more on her own.


	5. Expectations

Kabuto was on his fourth volunteer when Orochimaru came to the lab. He stood in the doorway and watched as Kabuto worked, both of his hands fully immersed in a young woman’s stomach. With one hand, he had formed a chakra scalpel and was making tiny, careful incisions. With his other hand, he applied a steady flow of healing chakra as he worked to fuse the foreign DNA material into her body in such a way that her chakra network, which he could not see, would also take hold of it.

Orochimaru waited until the procedure had been completed before stepping into the room to take a closer look. The first two subjects had already been moved to another room for rest and recovery, but the third, a middle-aged man, had been left on the floor, pushed out of the way to save time after he had died during the surgery.

Orochimaru glanced from the discarded body to the woman on the table. “Will this one live?” he asked.

“She should,” Kabuto answered quietly. He took a step back from the table, slightly out of breath, and shook his hands, throwing droplets of blood onto the floor. Behind him on another table were several spare cloths, many already stained red. He reached back and grabbed one, wiping off the excess blood without bothering to be thorough. Then he unconsciously reached up to adjust his glasses, leaving slight traces of blood on his skin and the black frames.

“How many have already undergone the procedure?” Orochimaru asked.

“She was the fourth.”

Orochimaru frowned. “And one is already dead. You’ve had an entire day and you’ve only given me three subjects to work with.”

“The procedure is extremely difficult–”

“How long until those three are ready for the next phase?”

“It’s… difficult to say,” Kabuto said evasively. “It could be a few days or a few weeks. They’ll each react differently and their bodies could still reject the foreign DNA at any time. Even if they don’t, it will take time for it to become fully integrated.”

“Then I suppose you will just have to work harder to make sure I have what I need.” Orochimaru went to the doorway again. “Maybe if Tsunade were performing this surgery, I’d have the results I want,” he said. Then he left.

Kabuto scoffed quietly, but he glanced over his shoulder at the dead man crumpled against the wall for a few long moments before taking the fourth subject to the recovery room. Then, instead of retrieving the next volunteer, he returned to the lab and dug far back into one of the supply cabinets, pulling out a small glass vial filled with clear liquid. Sitting on the floor in front of the open cabinet, he quickly selected a clean syringe from a box and pulled the stopper from the vial. He drew the liquid into the syringe draining half the bottle, and injected himself without hesitation. Then he stuffed the vial and syringe back into the corner of the cabinet before hurrying over to the room where his next subject waited.

 

Kabuto worked through the night and well into the next day without stop. By the next night, all of the remaining subjects had undergone and survived the surgery and were resting in the large recovery room.

“If everything progresses smoothly, you should be able to start working with some of them as early as tomorrow,” Kabuto told Orochimaru as soon as the work was completed.

“It seems you’ve managed to complete this assignment very quickly after all,” he replied.

“I’ll admit; there was a learning curve. The first few went slowly, but it got easier.”

Orochimaru smirked. That may have been true, but he knew it was his comment about Tsunade that had driven such quick work. Kabuto was attentive and alert mentally, but his pale face and sunken eyes betrayed a physical fatigue that Orochimaru doubted Kabuto was even aware of.

“And now it’s just a matter of time,” Orochimaru mused.

“That’s right,” Kabuto said. “At this point, if their bodies reject the DNA, there’s nothing I can do. We’ll just have to wait and see.”


	6. Survival

Kotone eased the door to the recovery room open just slightly and slipped inside. The room was well-lit, but it seemed that all of the experiments inside were asleep. She walked down the aisle between the rows of beds, scrutinizing each subject as she passed. A few were resting peacefully, but many seemed to be in the throes of an intense fever. Near the back of the room, she came across a bed in which a man lay with the unmistakable pallor and stillness of death. A shiver trickled down her spine but it wasn’t the dead man that unsettled her. The whole situation felt too familiar.

_These experiments,_ Kotone thought. _They all had that surgery done on them. There’s so many of them… and these symptoms…_ She glanced around again. _It’s just like when I first came here._ She thought back to the day she had woken up in a similar room. Every bed around her had been filled, but everyone was dead, taken by the fever and corruption of cells that came with the procedure.

_It’s the same,_ she thought, looking down at her hand as a thin twig sprouted up from her palm. She stared at it for a moment then absorbed it back into her hand. _But I don’t get what this has to do with Lady Tsunade. There has to be more to it than that._

With a quiet sigh, she turned around and headed back down the aisle between the beds. _I’m not going to find out anything more here. I wonder if I’ll ever find out what this is all about. Probably best to forget it. I just wish Lady Tsunade wasn’t involved._

Kotone reached for the door but someone grabbed her wrist. Tight pressure from an arm wrapped around her neck made her stagger backward, and her captor moved with her, pulling her away from the door.

“That was wood style.” Ran’s voice was quiet and raspy in her ear. “You went through this procedure too. How did you survive? Tell me.”

Kotone didn’t have to think about her answer. She jabbed her elbow into Ran’s stomach and was immediately released as Ran collapsed on the ground. Kotone quickly turned and pressed her back to the door, scanning the room in a glance. No one else had moved from the beds; only one was empty now. She looked down at Ran who was curled in on herself, her mouth open in a silent cry, her face contorted with pain.

“I was lucky,” Kotone said quietly. “That’s all.”

Ran looked up at her from the floor, but her eyes were unfocused and her body was trembling.

“Looks like you’re not.” Kotone reached for the door handle without taking her eyes off of Ran. Then she slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.


	7. Safety

_Shit, shit, shit!_ Panic ripped through Kotone’s thoughts as she hurried away from the recovery room. _I am_ dead _if Kabuto finds out I did that… or Lord Orochimaru…_

She stopped abruptly and looked back toward the room. _Should I…?_ She stared at the door for a long minute before finally turning again and sprinting away.

_Maybe she’ll just die,_ she thought desperately. _Then no one will know I was even there._ She slid to a stop, half crouched, and listened for sounds around the corner. Her room wasn’t far. If she could just make it back without being seen…

The hallway was silent, and after a quick glance to confirm it was empty, Kotone took off at top speed. The next thing she knew, she had collided with something. She gasped and stumbled back, terror squeezing into a tight knot in her chest.

“Kotone?”

“…Lady Tsunade,” Kotone breathed as she threw an anxious look over her shoulder. Tsunade shifted the stack of books she was carrying and glanced around also, unsure of what she was looking for.

“What’s going on?” Tsunade asked slowly. She watched Kotone fidget without answering and changed her approach.

“…Okay. Come here. Come with me.” Tsunade turned and started walking and Kotone followed, but when they came to Orochimaru’s and Tsunade’s bedroom, Kotone stopped and backed away. Tsunade set the books down on a table and turned back to Kotone but she was still standing in the hall.

_I can’t be here! This is Lord Orochimaru’s bedroom! I have to get out of here!_ She took another step back and Tsunade went to the door.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Come on; I want you to tell me what happened.”

“I need to get back to my room,” she answered quickly,

“Kotone,” Tsunade put her hand on Kotone’s shoulder, gently holding her there. “I want to help you.”

“B-But Lord Orochimaru…” Kotone whispered, looking around again. Tsunade could feel her shaking. She moved closer and spoke quietly, trying to reassure her.

“Orochimaru never comes back to the room so early,” she said. “Trust me; you’d be more likely to run into him if you stayed in the hallway. So come here.” She guided Kotone into the room and closed the door before sitting with her on the bed. “What’s got you so scared?” Tsunade asked.

“I-I messed up,” Kotone breathed. She could feel herself calming down now that she was alone with Tsunade but she still strained to listen for any sounds from the hallway.

“It’s probably not that bad,” Tsunade said. “What did you do?”

Kotone suddenly remembered Orochimaru’s instructions to keep his new project secret from Tsunade and swallowed hard. “I got into a fight with one of the other experiments,” she said.

“Kotone–!”

“ _She_ attacked _me,_ okay!” Kotone countered quickly.

“Oh. Then what’s the problem?” Tsunade said casually.

“I might have sort of hurt her…” she murmured.

“…What did you do?”

“She grabbed me and I had to get her off so I just sort of elbowed her.”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound that bad,” she said flatly.

“Well, she might have been recovering from surgery…”

“…When she attacked you.”

“Yes!”

Tsunade put her hands out behind her on the bed and leaned back with a sigh. “Well, this still doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong. But if you want, maybe I could take a look at her. Make sure she’s okay before Kabuto or Orochimaru–”

“No!” Kotone said too quickly. “Um, no, I mean I’m sure it’s not that serious. I was just freaked out. I think she’s important to Lord Orochimaru so…” She looked away. Without the whole story, she felt like she wasn’t making much sense. “Please, just… don’t mention it to Lord Orochimaru. I don’t know what he’d do,” she finished quietly, her head bowed, staring at her hands.

“Kotone…” Tsunade looked at her for a long moment. Then she put her arm around her, pulling her to her side. Kotone looked up immediately, startled at first, but she quickly relaxed.

“It’s weird,” she muttered. “I always feel safe when you’re around.”

Tsunade looked down at the young woman, as surprised at her words as Kotone had been when Tsunade had pulled her closer. Then she smiled.

“You are.”


	8. The Second Phase

Ran watched Kabuto and Orochimaru walk into the recovery room through a haze of fever. They passed by her bed without so much as a glance in her direction and went instead to another girl who was sitting up, waiting for them.

“This one,” Kabuto said as they came up to her.

Orochimaru looked her over. She seemed composed and healthy – a sharp contrast to most of the others in the room. “Show me,” he told her. The girl held out her hand and a column of pink crystal grew in her palm.

Orochimaru smiled. “Now then, come with me,” he said.

The girl followed Orochimaru and Kabuto to a lab and sat on the edge of an examination table while Kabuto inserted a large needle into her arm.

“We’re just going to take some blood,” Kabuto told her. “You’ll start to feel dizzy but you’ll be fine.” The girl didn’t respond; she just kept her eyes on the needle.

It was a slow process, but when they had collected all the blood they needed, Kabuto removed the needle and quickly steadied the girl as she swayed precariously on the table.

Orochimaru took the blood and went to the door. “Keep an eye on her, Kabuto,” he said as he left. “She’s important for the final tests.”

“Of course, Lord Orochimaru,” Kabuto said as he eased the girl back to lie on the table.

Orochimaru took the blood to a room he had prepared for the second phase of the experiment. He could feel the drop in temperature as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Even the pale electric lanterns strung across the ceiling added to the chill of the room, giving everything a faint, icy blue glow.

Glass containers of varying sizes were gathered on a long table by the wall. Orochimaru selected one already filled with a blue solution and slowly poured the blood into it. Deep purple tendrils formed as the fluids mixed until he began to stir it, creating a cloudy, uniform mixture.

As he stirred, a fine, sand-like substance began to gather at the bottom of the glass. When a sufficient amount had accumulated, he took the container to a basin lined with tightly woven cloth. He poured the mixture into it and carefully lifted the cloth, filtering the out the tiny grains, then took the cloth to another glass container that had been filled with water and carefully funneled the particles into it. Then he mixed it until they had completely dissolved.

“…It’s just a matter of time now,” he murmured.


	9. Crystal

Orochimaru carefully lifted a deep red crystal from the water. It was small, no longer than two inches, and had formed with smooth facets that reflected the pale light in the cold room. Its unnatural growth was encouraging, and he could already feel it reacting with his chakra as he held it. But it felt wrong.

He tried to ignore the feeling as he tied a black cord around the crystal and went to meet Kabuto. He was waiting for Orochimaru in one of the small rooms kept for certain, more easily managed subjects like Sasuke and Kotone.

The girl who had given the blood that formed the crystal was also there. When Orochimaru came in, she stood and waited quietly for her instructions. She knew he wasn’t finished with her yet, but she could tell that the experiment was almost over, and if she cooperated, she might survive.

Orochimaru stepped up to her and tied the black cord around her neck so that the crystal hung like a pendant. She touched it curiously but immediately pulled her hand back, feeling uneasy.

“I just need you to wear this for a day. Then I’ll teach you the new jutsu I created. Can you do that for me?” Orochimaru said, his voice carrying the same allure he used whenever he discovered a new and interesting young talent.

The girl didn’t respond. She could feel the crystal resting against her chest and it made her nauseous.

“I’ll be back tomorrow,” Orochimaru said. Then he and Kabuto left, locking her in the room.

 

The next day, Orochimaru returned to find the girl crouched in a corner, shivering. She started to cry when Orochimaru entered, pleading with him to spare her.

“I couldn’t do it. Please don’t make me wear it anymore. Please, Lord Orochimaru. I can’t s-stand it. It was killing me.”

Orochimaru glanced around the room and spotted the crystal in the opposite corner, as far away from the girl as she could get it. He picked it up by the rope then grabbed the girl and dragged her out of the room. She tried to struggle, but she could not break free of his grasp. He brought her to another room where the walls were lined with restraints and locked her into them. Then he tied the crystal around her neck again and left, shutting the door on her screams.

Kabuto was with him when he went back to that room a day later. This time the girl was silent when they entered, and she hung limply from her restraints.

“Kabuto,” Orochimaru said, and Kabuto went to her, quickly assessing her condition.

“Looks like she was right,” he said with a smirk. “It really did kill her.”

Orochimaru’s scowl deepened. He pulled the crystal off of the corpse and turned to leave. “I want to know how she died,” he said. “Come find me when you know.” With that, he left the room.


	10. Failure

Orochimaru took the crystal to a room deep in the hideout to study it. Hours later, he had abandoned the table he had been sitting at, having lost it under too many open books and pages of notes, and instead had moved to sit on the floor. Dozens of scrolls were lying open around him, and just as many had been tossed aside after the seals emblazoned upon them had proved useless for either analyzing the crystal or sealing its draining effects.

Impatient for his efforts to reveal something useful, he abandoned the scrolls and tied the crystal around his neck, then brought his hands together in front of him, focusing his chakra to test how the crystal would react. The more he tried to mold his chakra, the more it seemed to slip away from him until he was forced to break the focusing hand sign and tear the crystal from his neck. It clattered to the floor and bounced away from him as he doubled over, exhausted and breathless, sweat gathering on his face.

_That thing… is a complete failure,_ he thought bitterly. _It needs to be destroyed._

Kabuto came across Orochimaru in the hallway a few hours later.

“Lord Orochimaru, the autopsy on the girl is done. She seems to have died from total chakra depletion… Where is the crystal?” he asked.

“It was a failure,” Orochimaru answered shortly.

“There is another subject ready–”

“Not now,” he said, moving past Kabuto to continue down the hallway.

He went back to his room and was disappointed to see that Tsunade was not there, but this disappointment did not last long. He went to the bed and had barely lain upon it before falling soundly asleep.

 

When Orochimaru woke, he felt disoriented. He couldn’t be sure how much time had passed since he’d come to the room, but as he slowly sat up, he noticed that Tsunade was there, sitting at a desk, hunched over a few open books and papers. He got up quietly and moved behind her, looking over her shoulder at the medical texts and pages of notes she was writing. It took a few moments for her to notice him standing there, but when she did, she jumped slightly and quickly flipped the books closed before sweeping up the papers and pushing them underneath.

“What are you doing, Tsunade?” Orochimaru asked, trying to hide a smirk.

“Nothing,” she insisted, but already he had skillfully slipped a page of notes out of her protection and began to look it over. It seemed to be nothing more than a medical breakdown of all of the physical and chemical aspects of blood. He turned the page around to show it to her.

“What are you doing?” he asked again.

Tsunade sighed. “Trying to help myself,” she answered reluctantly.

“And? Is it working?”

She looked away and gave him no answer.

“Hm,” was his only response. He leaned down and kissed her head, taking a moment to run his fingers slowly through one of her pigtails, before he left the room.

Tsunade was frozen for a moment after he was gone. Then she put her head down, resting her forehead on her arm. Her other hand reached unconsciously for the crystal she once wore, but when she realized she’d done it, she straightened up with a jolt. She groaned and covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”


	11. Last Chances

The next time Orochimaru went to the recovery room, many more of the beds were empty.

“The cellular degeneration was too much for most of them to handle,” Kabuto explained. “The foreign chakra began spreading faster than they could adapt to it.”

“You said one was ready,” Orochimaru said, his voice revealing nothing of the frustration he felt. “Bring the blood to me as soon as you’ve collected it.”

Orochimaru was about to leave but Kabuto stopped him. “Lord Orochimaru, you should know that if the testing process kills the subject again, we might not have enough of them to produce a success in the end.”

Ran opened her eyes subtly and glanced from Kabuto to Orochimaru. _Kills the subject… again…_ She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to remain still as another wave of pain pulsed through her.

“I didn’t ask for your opinion, Kabuto.”

Orochimaru left and Kabuto sighed. “Really, Lord Orochimaru,” he muttered, shaking his head. Then he turned to a young man in a bed a few down from Ran.

“Come with me,” Kabuto said. “We may as well get this over with.”

 

Kabuto brought the new blood to Orochimaru and he mixed it with a modified solution to extract the solute particles. Despite Kabuto’s urgings for him to work on something else while the crystal formed, Orochimaru decided to stay and watch its development this time. It formed more quickly than he expected, growing with smooth facets as the first crystal had. The only visible difference between them was the color. The crystal that had been treated with the new filtering solution was a deep purple, and when he picked it up he could immediately sense that it possessed a more benign nature than its predecessor. Still, he took the precaution of binding the new subject for the testing period.

 

When he came back a day later, the subject was still alive. After having Kabuto confirm that the man had suffered no ill-effects, Orochimaru released him, but did not take the crystal back. Instead, he showed him a brief series of hand signs.

“This jutsu is meant to resonate with the crystal and release stored chakra back to you. You will perform this jutsu for me now,” Orochimaru told the man.

The man saw no reason not to comply. He formed each seal then touched the crystal resting against his chest as Orochimaru had instructed.

The effect was immediate. The subject let out a horrible scream as the crystal shattered and blood spurted from his chest. He staggered backward and fell and his back arched off of the floor as his whole body went rigid with pain, his eyes wide and his mouth opening and closing silently and he fought unsuccessfully for breath. In the few moments it took Orochimaru to recover from his surprise, the man had died, his eyes and mouth still open in frozen horror.

Orochimaru approached curiously and knelt beside him, observing the splintered pieces of crystal scattered around the body. Kabuto suddenly appeared in the doorway.

“Lord Orochimaru, what was–?” He stopped when he saw the body. “Another one, huh?” he sighed quietly. “That’s not good. Another has died in recovery. We only have one left.”

“One will have to be enough,” Orochimaru said, straightening up with a few of the bloody purple shards in his hand. “Take care of that,” he added glancing at the man on the ground. “Tell me anything you can. And let me know when the last subject will be ready.”


	12. Results

Kabuto followed Orochimaru down the hallway, reporting his findings from the last autopsy. “The wounds were very interesting. I don’t have much information on the kind of damage that was inflicted, but if I could retrieve my previous research from the hideout in the southern forest–”

“What you’ve told me is enough. Your personal research can wait until after this experiment is finished.”

“Of course, Lord Orochimaru,” Kabuto said, smiling. “When would you like to start the next crystal?”

Orochimaru stopped. “You said we only have one subject left.”

“That’s right, but I think she should be ready.”

Orochimaru walked away without another word but Kabuto understood.

“I’ll take care of it right away, Lord Orochimaru.”

 

“Stop it; get off me!” Ran screamed, wrenching herself out of Kabuto’s grasp. She fell hard, unbalanced by her own efforts, and lay panting on the floor.

“Your body is still too weak for you to resist,” Kabuto informed her. “So there’s really no point. Besides, we just need to take some blood for now. It’s not dangerous at all.”

Ran ignored him and scrambled to her feet but he had grabbed her again, dragging her over to an examination table with restraints hanging from its edges. It didn’t require much effort to wrestle her onto the table and fasten the straps around her arms and legs. As soon as he had, he inserted the needle into her arm.

Ran felt weaker and weaker as her blood slowly drained into the collection bag. By the time Kabuto removed the needle, she had already passed out.

 

Ran woke hours later. She was still lying restrained on the metal examination table, but the needle was gone and she was alone. She gave a futile tug on the straps around her arms and a brief shine caught her eye. A pale purple crystal tied with a black cord was resting on her chest.

“What… the hell is this?” she muttered, but a strange, random pendent did not warrant much of her attention. She was more concerned with the sturdiness of her restraints and all but forgot about the crystal as she continued to struggle against them.

Hours passed with no progress on her escape. Ran eventually resolved to wait for Kabuto to return, occasionally calling out when she got bored to see if anyone could hear her, but she received no answer until the door opened almost a day later. Orochimaru came in and released her from the restraints before she could say a word.

Ran sat up slowly and slid off of the table. “Now what?” she asked cautiously.

Orochimaru smiled. “I’m going to teach you a new jutsu,” he said.

A familiar rush of excitement charged through Ran, but it was tainted with distrust. “Why?” she demanded.

“As a reward.”

Before Ran could respond, Orochimaru started forming hand signs and her focus shifted immediately, her eyes locked on him, taking in each motion.

“Then touch the crystal,” he said when he finished the seals. “It should resonate with the jutsu.”

At first Ran was confused. Then her hand went to her chest where the crystal still rested. _So_ this _is the real experiment,_ she thought, glaring at him. _The one that kills the test subjects._

“No way,” she said, starting to take off the makeshift necklace. “Do it yourself.”

Orochimaru moved and he was suddenly behind her, his cold grasp stopping her from removing the crystal. “I could just kill you if you prefer,” he offered. “But that seems like a shame. With the jutsu, you might survive.”

He did not release her as he waited for her answer. It was all Ran could do to keep from trembling. The fear that his presence commanded was worsened just by the simple fact that he was behind her, out of her sight, and already had a hold on her.

“I’ll do it.”

The words spilled out without her permission, but it made Orochimaru move away. He stepped in front of her again and watched her carefully as she began to form each of the hand signs he had shown her. When she finished, she brought a shaking hand up to the crystal and closed her eyes, hoping that it would be quick.

Ran touched the crystal and a comfortable warmth seeped into her chest, spreading out gradually to her whole body. She waited, still tense, but when nothing more happened she eased her eyes open. Orochimaru was staring at her.

“Did you feel anything?” he asked.

“It felt like… strength returning,” she muttered, turning the crystal between her fingers. Orochimaru almost smiled. He moved closer and Ran immediately took a step back, but he reached out, stealing the crystal out of her grasp and slipping it from around her neck. Then, without a word, he struck sharply at her head, knocking her out, and locked her into a holding cell deep within the hideout.


	13. Recoil

_It’s time,_ Orochimaru thought a day later. _I’ll see for myself if it’s working properly._ He pulled the pale purple crystal out from under his shirt and formed the hand signs for the resonating jutsu. Then he touched the crystal, pressing it to his chest.

Searing pain cut through him in an instant. The crystal shattered under his fingers but he didn’t even notice. He was barely keeping to his feet, the pain racking his entire body. His lungs felt frozen and he immediately directed every ounce of his focus to the body shedding technique, but his chakra would not gather.

The jutsu failed and Orochimaru fell forward. He had to fight just to breathe, gasping weakly on the floor before he finally succumbed and consciousness slipped away from him.

“Lord Orochimaru, it seems that–” Kabuto walked into the room but stopped short when he saw Orochimaru on the ground.

“Lord Orochimaru!” Kabuto ran to him and turned him over carefully. The floor was spattered with blood and Orochimaru wasn’t breathing. Kabuto immediately pressed his hands to Orochimaru’s chest and began healing him, focusing all of his attention and energy on his lungs.

He saw results quickly. Orochimaru’s body convulsed with harsh coughing and Kabuto quickly pulled him to sit up, keeping one hand on his chest for a steady flow of healing chakra. Each cough brought up large splashes of blood from his lungs until finally they were clear and the coughing turned to harsh gasping breaths.

“Lord Orochimaru… What happened?” Kabuto said, staring at the charred, bloody skin exposed on his chest where his shirt had been burned through. He didn’t really expect an answer. Even if he wanted to tell him, Kabuto doubted he’d be able to speak. Instead Kabuto did his best to stop the bleeding and mend the damaged skin as quickly as possible.

After a few minutes Orochimaru’s breathing quieted, but the pain still burned deeply in his chest and his lungs felt heavy. He looked around and saw pieces of crystal scattered on the floor around him. ~~~~

“Let me take you to your room,” Kabuto said, finally taking his hands away from the harsh wound.

“No,” Orochimaru answered faintly. “Just take care of it here.”

“There’s no need to be so stubborn, Lord Orochimaru. You’ll need rest–”

The sudden fierce glare and overwhelming sense of bloodlust emanating from Orochimaru made Kabuto fall immediately silent. Ordinarily, Orochimaru might have only scolded him for his impudence, but now it wasn’t worth the effort it took him to speak.

“…I’ll need some things from the lab,” Kabuto said. “Please just wait here for me.” He stood but was almost immediately back on his knees when Orochimaru tried to get up as well. “Lord Orochimaru, you can’t–”

“I’ll go to the lab,” Orochimaru insisted, even as the effort to stand drained his strength. “I want this done quickly.”

Kabuto gave in and put Orochimaru’s arm over his shoulders, supporting him as they slowly stood and headed for the lab.


	14. Stubborn Pride

Kotone was sitting at a table in one of the labs, her chin resting on her hand as she stared at a tank filled with bubbling green liquid. In front of her was a clipboard on which she was supposed to write down any changes in the man submerged in the tank, but she had been there for hours and he still just floated there, unchanging.

She ignored it at first when the door to the lab opened behind her, but then she caught the reflection of Kabuto and Orochimaru in the glass. She sprang to her feet and turned, knocking the clipboard from the table. The sight of Orochimaru struggling to walk, relying almost fully on Kabuto’s help, and bleeding from a horrific wound on his chest was enough to leave Kotone speechless. She stayed back as they passed by her. Then she hurried to the door, but Orochimaru’s voice froze her before she could open it.

“Do not tell Tsunade,” he said, and the words were harsh with the threat behind them.

“I won’t,” she answered quickly. Then she rushed from the room.

As soon as she was gone, Orochimaru moved away from Kabuto and leaned against the wall, lowering himself slowly to sit on the floor. Kabuto hurried to gather the supplies he needed and then returned to Orochimaru’s side. The damaged skin he had been able to repair had somehow torn open again, and on closer inspection he saw that tiny shards of the broken crystal were imbedded in the wound.

“Lord Orochimaru,” Kabuto said urgently. “What about the body shedding technique–?”

“I would have used it by now if I could,” Orochimaru hissed. “I cannot mold the chakra.”

“…I’ll have to remove the shards. It will take some time.”

“Just do it.”

Kabuto set to work immediately, cutting into Orochimaru’s flesh to extract the many fragments of crystal, and Orochimaru bore the pain silently. It didn’t compare to the penetrating ache that pressed through his chest, biting into him with every breath and each heartbeat.

Removing the shards was a slow process, but when Kabuto finally finished, he repaired the ravaged skin and muscle once again. The deeper pain had hardly eased at all, but on the surface it now appeared as though the wound was only a minor burn. Orochimaru reached up and pressed his fingers to his chest experimentally. The slight pressure brought on a brief fit of coughing.

“What is this, Kabuto?” he gasped.

“I don’t know,” Kabuto admitted. “Damage may have been done to your chakra network, and there’s chakra imbedded in the wound. I can’t do much more for you until I find out more about it.”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Orochimaru snapped at him.

“…Let me tell Tsunade,” Kabuto said.

“Kabuto… Do you intend to make me repeat myself?” Orochimaru’s anger was almost tangible. Kabuto swallowed hard, trying to keep himself from backing away.

“Lord Orochimaru, please see reason. In your condition, I cannot leave your side. If you were to lose consciousness now, you would stop breathing. You can’t even risk falling asleep. This needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible and Tsunade could help–”

“What did you use?”

Kabuto’s thoughts were derailed with the spontaneous question. “What?”

“When I started this experiment, I told you the procedure was not progressing quickly enough. Then in two days you had completed everything.” He paused to catch his breath, each word a strain on his body. “I know you used something on yourself to make that possible. Go get it. Bring it to me. Then get to work on whatever this is.”

Kabuto started to stand but he was hesitant to leave Orochimaru’s side. He was relieved when Orochimaru spoke again, giving him an excuse to stay.

“Find Kotone as well,” he said.

“…Kotone?”

“Send her to the southern hideout.”

“Of course; I understand.” _I don’t have much, but the information I left in the other hideout might help. I can’t leave Lord Orochimaru, but Kotone could go get it._ Kabuto stood. “I’ll be right back.”

“Do not tell Tsunade.” Orochimaru warned again. “Do you understand me, Kabuto?”

“…Yes, Lord Orochimaru.”


	15. Treatment

At Kabuto’s insistence and with the help of the injection Kabuto had given him, Orochimaru stayed awake through the night, working to produce a treatment that he believed would make the difference for the formation of the next crystal. After analysis of the results and the few recovered shards, Orochimaru had concluded that the crystal would only resonate with the one from whose blood it was created. The treatment he developed was intended to fix that.

Kabuto brought Ran to the lab the next day and Orochimaru stood in the back of the room, watching quietly as Kabuto hooked her up to an IV.

Ran could feel the strange tension in the room. It was eerily silent and she thought she saw Kabuto sneaking quick, appraising glances at Orochimaru every few minutes. She looked back at Orochimaru out of the corner of her eye and wondered if she was imagining the worn look on his face. When she turned back to Kabuto, she saw the IV in her arm and immediately reached to remove it, but Kabuto grabbed her hand.

“I thought you were going to cooperate,” he said. “Hold still.”

“I thought you were just going to take more blood. What are you doing to me?” She was already starting to feel sick, her stomach turning as the IV pumped something into her veins.

“We need to make some… adjustments to your blood first. It won’t take long.”

Ran squeezed her eyes shut. Already, there was a high pitched tone sounding in her ears and she could feel her blood moving in her veins. Kabuto laid her back on the table.

“Take deep breaths,” he told her, but his voice was warped and distant. There was another sound, even more distant, and the muffled voice near her called out, but her mind could no longer focus on the words. She forced her eyes open.

Kabuto wasn’t there – he had gone to Orochimaru, who seemed to be in pain. He was using the wall for support and breathing heavily. Ran knew then that she had not imagined his exhaustion, or the tension in the room.

_So he… got himself hurt…_ Ran thought. _Ugh… I can’t pass out now… I need to know what’s going on… It could be… my only chance to escape._ But she couldn’t bring herself to move; her muscles would barely respond.

“If you can’t actually help me,” Orochimaru hissed at Kabuto. “Then finish what you’re doing here so you can get back to researching this.”

Kabuto backed reluctantly away from Orochimaru and returned to Ran’s side. He inserted a large needle into her arm and began draining her blood again.

“No…” Ran muttered faintly, but this was the most resistance she could offer. Her vision darkened and went black.

When Kabuto had collected all they needed, he removed the needle and IV. Orochimaru took the blood from him and went immediately to the cold room where the new solution was waiting. He poured the blood in and mixed it slowly, watching the sand-like particles gather once again at the bottom of the container. The drug Kabuto had given him seemed to be working, but he had noticed a distinct impatience as well and made a conscious effort to slow himself down as he carefully poured the mixture into the basin.

Kabuto came into the room just as Orochimaru was transferring the solute into its final container.

“Why are you here?” Orochimaru said sharply, not taking his eyes away from his work.

“…Have you even seen Tsunade since this happened?” Kabuto asked, ignoring Orochimaru’s tone. “She’s going to get suspicious. She might come looking for you.”

Orochimaru was silent, considering his words. It was likely. She had done it before if he’d worked too late into the night without going back to their room. He stifled a sigh, knowing the added pain it would bring, and turned from the glass. It would take time for the crystal to form. He made his decision and left the room. Kabuto went out into the hallway and watched him go.

_The drug’s effects will only last another day at the most, but there’s no way Tsunade won’t notice the symptoms. I’m sure she’ll come to the same conclusion I did. Then maybe Lord Orochimaru will cooperate…_


	16. The End of Avoidance

“Ugh, I’m so tired,” Tsunade yawned, stretching her arms as she walked down the hallway. “I hope I’ll be able to get some sleep tonight–” She stopped short. The door to the bedroom was standing open, flooding the hallway with light. She hesitated for just a moment before going inside.

Orochimaru was sitting at the table, looking over several stacks of papers. After a few moments of deliberation, Tsunade crept up behind him, hoping to get a look at what he was studying. The pages were covered in her handwriting.

“Hey–” she said, forgetting her desire to go unnoticed. She put her hand on his shoulder as she leaned in, trying to get a closer look.

Orochimaru didn’t speak but his hand moved up to cover Tsunade’s. His skin was ice cold and concern quickly crowded out the other thoughts in Tsunade’s mind. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly swept his hair back over his shoulder and leaned down to kiss his neck, hoping to distract him as she subtly checked his pulse.

_His heart rate… is so low._ She slipped her hands down to his chest to pull him back against her and felt him tense, felt his heart race just briefly before he could calm it. It was a reaction she knew well. He was in pain, and he was hiding it.

“Orochimaru,” she scolded, backing away from him slightly to look him over. “What happened?”

Still, Orochimaru said nothing. He knew it was too late to lie.

“Show me,” Tsunade said. He stood reluctantly and took off his shirt as he turned to her. She held back a gasp.

_What… happened? It looks like… a burn? But why would he hide something like that?_ Tsunade stepped closer, looking carefully at the center of the wound where the crystal had rested. His skin was raw and partially charred. She reached toward him, healing chakra around her hand, and he drew back slightly.

“Honestly, would you stop it? You should have come to me right away. Or to Kabuto. Why would you hide this?” She moved closer and pressed her palm gently to his chest. He groaned and tried to move away again, but Tsunade was holding onto his arm. After only a few moments, however, Tsunade stopped.

“What is this, Orochimaru? What did you do?”

“Does it matter?” he said stubbornly, turning away from her again and reaching for his shirt.

“Yes, it does matter. My medical jutsu isn’t working.”

“…Kabuto said the same,” Orochimaru muttered.

“What? I don’t believe this. Orochimaru, why didn’t you tell me? How long were you planning on hiding this from me?”

“Just leave it alone, Tsunade. It’s not that serious.”

“How could you know?”

Orochimaru started to walk away and Tsunade grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “This is obviously no ordinary wound. Lay down. Right now. I need to make sure it’s not serious.”

Orochimaru hesitated. He made no move to obey, but he also did not try to leave. Her grip was tight on his arm and he knew immediately from the look in her eye that she would not let the issue go. With a reluctant sigh, he turned back and went to the bed and Tsunade sat next to him, chakra surrounding her hands as she began to examine him.

_There’s chakra imbedded in the wound…_ Tsunade thought. _This will be very difficult to heal… but I still should be able to. It will just take time… “_ Orochimaru, I need you to sit up. I’m going to try something.”

Wanting to get it over with, Orochimaru moved without argument and leaned back against the pillows. Tsunade closed her eyes and focused on building the chakra in her hands, making it dense and potent before pressing carefully on his chest again. At first, he endured it quietly, but she did not let up, and he could feel her chakra penetrating deeper than before. Minutes crept slowly by until he couldn’t stand it any longer. He reached up to push her hands away, but just as he grabbed her wrist, a tremor shook him. He could only clutch at her sleeve as he was suddenly overcome by a fit of coughing, and blood splattered over her hands.

Tsunade flinched, eyes squeezed shut, but Orochimaru could already feel her shivering. Still, she did not let up. Gradually, the coughing subsided and the strain in Orochimaru’s chest began to ease. Suddenly, Tsunade broke away from him, cutting off the jutsu and leaving them both panting for breath.

Orochimaru reached up and tentatively touched the wound on his chest. It was still sore, but already the skin had been repaired and the pain had dulled. Even his breathing felt easier. “Tsunade…” he said, his voice still weak.

“Are you okay?” she asked, slightly breathless from the large outpouring of chakra.

“…Yes,” he said softly.

She kept her eyes closed but could not stop her trembling, unable to erase the image of blood on her hands from her mind. Orochimaru stood slowly then took his shirt from the bed and carefully used it to wipe the blood away.

“You can open your eyes, Tsunade. It will help.”

Tsunade did so, slowly, and her shaking quieted. “Why… did you do that?” she muttered. “Why didn’t you just tell me to deal with it, or get angry?”

“…I wasn’t thinking about–”

“And why haven’t you mentioned it at all since that day? Do you have any idea how nervous I’ve been around you? Thinking you could start again at any time?”

“I haven’t been thinking about it, that’s all. I’ve been… busy… with something else–”

“Something that gets you hurt?” she muttered.

“Tsunade–”

“Do you have _any_ idea the extent of the damage you’d sustained? How could you say it wasn’t serious? What the hell were you doing?”

“Never mind what I was doing. Apparently it wasn’t so serious that you couldn’t fix it, so I don’t see a problem.”

“I don’t know if I fixed it. With a wound like that, there might have been damage to your chakra network, and that’s something medical jutsu can’t fix. Orochimaru, are you listening to me?”

Orochimaru’s eyes had suddenly gone unfocused. He swayed and Tsunade stood quickly to catch him as he fell forward.

“Orochimaru!”

He grabbed onto her jacket and tried to regain his footing but part of him just didn’t want to stand. He was too exhausted. “Why… am I…?”

“You idiot. I knew it. Kabuto gave you something to keep you awake, right? It’s not working. With all the medications and drugs you’ve used on yourself, something like that isn’t going to have the same effects on you that it does on other people. It’ll wear off much faster.”

“I can’t… I have to–”

“You have to rest.”

“Tsunade, if I–”

“Forget whatever Kabuto told you. Listen to me. It’s all right. I’ve fixed the worst of it. What you need to do right now is sleep.” She held him tighter. “I’ll be right here. You’ll be fine.”

Orochimaru was quiet for a few moments. Then he slowly closed his eyes and fell immediately into darkness.

Tsunade threw the blankets back and carefully eased Orochimaru onto the bed. Then she slid in next to him and brought the blankets up around them both, hoping she would be able to keep him warm. She held him close, keeping careful watch over his breathing and heart rate, and felt foolish for having avoided him for so long.

_All this time he hasn’t even been thinking about the bet, while I’ve done nothing but obsess over it. Maybe if I hadn’t been avoiding him, he wouldn’t have gotten this bad._

_I’ve got to get over this… I just… don’t know how._


	17. Konoha's Efforts

Kotone came up the underground staircase of the southern hideout, a small scroll grasped tightly in her hand. _I’ve got to hurry back,_ she thought, but before she could take another step, a loud voice called out from somewhere in the forest.

“Hey, who are you?”

Naruto jumped down from the trees and quickly drew a kunai from the bag at his hip. “Are you with Orochimaru? What are you doing here?”

Kotone slowly reached for her own bag but another person suddenly appeared behind her. He grabbed her arm and pulled it up behind her back then grabbed her other wrist as well to keep her from moving. The scroll dropped from her hand.

“Let go of me!” Kotone shouted, struggling against his hold.

Naruto ran up to her. “Where’s Orochimaru?” he demanded. “What did he do with Sasuke and Grandma Tsunade?”

Another person jumped down out of the trees. Sakura pulled at her glove as she walked up to Naruto and punched him in the head. “You idiot!” she shouted. “If you hadn’t jumped out like that, we could have followed her! She might have led us right to them!”

“O-Oh, uh–”

“Save that for later, you two,” Kakashi said from behind Kotone. “We’re in enemy territory; we have to be careful.”

“It doesn’t look like there are any traps or lookouts in the area.” Jiraiya walked out of the trees to join them but stopped when he saw Kotone. He almost said her name out of sheer surprise but caught himself at the last moment. “What’s going on?” he said instead.

“We caught her coming out of the hideout,” Kakashi answered.

“I see. So she’s probably one of Orochimaru’s followers,” Jiraiya said. Kotone stared at him, eyes wide. “Well,” he continued. “We’ll definitely need to take her alive. She might have valuable information.”

“But we can’t stop now; we’ve gotta go down there!” Naruto shouted. “What if Sasuke and Grandma Tsunade are down there right now?”

“Calm down, Naruto,” Kakashi said. “We’re not leaving just yet. We’ll station a lookout outside and they can keep an eye on her while we take a look around.”

“That’s right. I’ll take her. You three go on ahead,” Jiraiya said.

Kakashi nodded.

“Hey, what’s this?” Sakura bent down to pick up the scroll at Kotone’s feet.

“Hands off!” Kotone shouted. She lashed out quickly, kicking Sakura in the face. Sakura let out a startled cry and flew back a few feet. Just as quickly, Kakashi forced Kotone to the ground.

_She’s fast!_ he thought.

“Ugh, get off me!”

Kakashi suddenly felt himself being pushed away by thick wooden branches growing out from Kotone’s back and arms.

“What the–?” The branches lifted Kakashi off of her and wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides and dropping him on the ground beside the stairway as they detached from Kotone.

“No way!” Naruto exclaimed.

“That’s impossible!” Sakura said, rubbing a thin line of blood from her mouth with the back of her hand. “I thought only Captain Yamato could use wood style!”

Kotone scooped up the scroll and dashed away from the group.

“Don’t let her get away,” Kakashi called out as he struggled to his feet.

Kotone glanced behind her as she ran but when she looked forward again, two of Naruto’s clones were there, a rasengan spinning between their hands. One of the clones vanished as the technique was completed and Kotone stopped so abruptly she almost fell over. She turned sharply and sprinted back toward the southern hideout as Naruto brought the rasengan down on her heels. The ground was demolished, leaving a perfectly round crater. The force of the impact sent Kotone flying.

She hit the ground hard, landing in the midst of the four Leaf shinobi, and clambered to her feet again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a kunai flying toward her. Shock froze her as she realized that Jiraiya had been the one to throw it, but only for a moment. She paid for her hesitation with a shallow cut just above her right eye, but by dodging the kunai, she had inadvertently thrown Kakashi’s attack off target. Sakura had already broken him free of the branches and Kotone had not even seen him come after her.

Kotone had barely processed her good fortune when Sakura unleashed her strength on the forest floor. Cracks spread out from her fist and the ground buckled under Kotone, collapsing into the hideout below.

Kotone fell hard into the rubble and tried to hold herself still for a moment as she sorted through the pain in her body to determine if anything important had been broken. When she eased her eyes open again, Jiraiya was there, leaning over her.

“Pretend you’ve been knocked out,” he whispered. “Trust me.”

Kotone glanced around without moving and spotted the scroll nearby. She carefully reached out for it, but Jiraiya picked it up. She eyed him suspiciously.

“Trust me,” he said again, tucking the scroll into his shirt.

Kotone stared at him for a few moments longer. Then she slowly closed her eyes and felt herself being lifted out of the rubble.

Jiraiya jumped back up to the surface with Kotone in his arms. “No chance of a stealthy entrance now,” he said, his voice loud and deep in Kotone’s ear as her head rested against his chest. “What do you want to do?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Kakashi said. “We can’t waste this chance now that we’ve finally found his hideout. Naruto, Sakura, let’s go.” He jumped down into the hideout.

“Right!” Naruto jumped in after him and Sakura followed.

After they had gone deeper into the underground labyrinth, Jiraiya moved away from the hole and set Kotone down gently in the grass. “It’s okay,” he said quietly. “They’re gone.” Kotone sat up slowly. “Are you okay?” he asked, carefully moving her hair away from the cut on her forehead. She reached up and wiped some of the blood away from her eye.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Sorry about that. It would have been much worse if Kakashi’s attack had connected. I didn’t know how else to warn you.”

“It’s okay,” she said.

Jiraiya handed her the scroll. “You better get going before they come back.”

“But what are you going to tell them?”

“I’ll think of something,” he said, grinning. “Go on.”

Kotone took the scroll and they both stood. After a moment’s hesitation, Kotone hugged him. “Thank you, Jiraiya,” she murmured.

Jiraiya smiled. “Don’t stop for anything, and be careful,” he said.

Kotone nodded and turned, running back toward the other hideout, clutching the small scroll tightly.


	18. Crystal Release

Ran woke with a start and jerked upward only to be snapped back against the table, hitting her head sharply on the metal. “Ah, shit!” she cried, closing her eyes against the pain. A few moments later she eased them open again and glanced at her arms. Kabuto had bound her with the restraints on the table again before leaving her alone.

“Ugh, great,” Ran muttered. _I have to get out of this. Now. If I don’t, I’ll end up dead before long._ She glanced at the IV stand still set up right beside the table and shuddered, remembering the hideous feeling of the treatment Kabuto had given her.

_I can’t let them do that to me again. I have to get out._

She started to build up her chakra and concentrated on changing its nature, hoping she would be able to use electricity to somehow weaken the straps around her wrists, but she suddenly stopped.

_That’s not what I need…_ She focused her chakra again, this time trying desperately to recall the girl in the recovery room who had produced a crystal for Orochimaru.

_What I need now… is crystal release!_

 

Kabuto stared down at the glass container in the cold room. The crystal had already started to form; it would be complete before long, but Orochimaru had not returned to check its progress. Kabuto went back out into the hallway and headed for Orochimaru’s room.

_I wonder if he found Tsunade. And if he did…_

The door was standing open and Kabuto stepped into the doorway. Tsunade was there, propped up slightly in the bed, stroking her fingers slowly through Orochimaru’s hair as he rested against her, sound asleep.

“Lord Orochimaru!” Kabuto rushed into the room. “How could you let this happen?” he shot at Tsunade. “Is he–?”

“He is _fine_ , no thanks to you,” Tsunade snapped, fixing Kabuto with a vicious glare that stopped him in his tracks. “Maybe you weren’t aware of this,” she continued. “But it wasn’t your drugs keeping him awake. It was the pain. He was living on sheer force of will, and you let him go on like that. What the hell is wrong with you?”

Kabuto’s face paled as he realized his oversight. Since Orochimaru had not seemed to have any trouble staying awake, Kabuto had simply assumed that the drug had been working. He stayed quiet.

“Get out,” Tsunade said, her voice low and heavy with anger.

Kabuto took a few steps back and left the room without another word.


	19. Intercepted

Kotone threw one last glance over her shoulder before darting out from her hiding place and making a break for the opening in the forest floor. A wide, clean-cut staircase led deep underground and she ran down the steps until the dim light of the forest no longer reached her. Ahead of her was the faint glow of the main hideout’s stone hallways, but she stopped in the darkness in between and leaned her shoulder against the wall of the stairwell, trying to catch her breath. The small cut on her forehead was leaking blood into her eye again and she pressed the heel of her hand to it, trying to stem the flow. In her other hand she still clutched the scroll.

_It’s a good thing Jiraiya was there,_ Kotone thought. _But… I hope he can come up with a good excuse when his team comes back and finds me gone._

When she had caught her breath, she continued slowly down the stairs. Once she reached the bottom, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

“I made it back,” she murmured.

The sound of quick footsteps drawing nearer suddenly filled the hallway and Kotone opened her eyes just in time to see Ran running around the corner. She skidded to a stop when she saw Kotone.

“The wood user, huh?” Ran muttered.

“You… You’re still alive.”

“No thanks to you.” Ran grabbed Kotone’s shoulder and pushed her aside, heading for the stairs.

Kotone grabbed Ran’s wrist. “Where are you going?”

“Where do you think?” Ran said. “I’m getting out of here while I can.”

Kotone’s grip tightened and she moved, placing herself between Ran and the stairwell again. Ran scoffed. “Let go,” she warned.

“Lord Orochimaru isn’t done with you yet,” Kotone said.

“I’m done with him. I got what I wanted, so I’m getting out.”

“Like it’ll be that easy.”

Ran smiled. “There’s no one around to stop me.”

Kotone met Ran’s eyes, staring her down.

“Huh? You’re kidding,” Ran laughed. “Why would you willingly obey him?”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Kotone answered. “Obeying him keeps me alive. Besides, I’m really starting to hate you.” She smiled sweetly at Ran. “So I think it’d be better if you stick around a while longer.”

“You’ve got a lot to learn, brat,” Ran sneered. “Obeying him keeps you alive? Don’t be so naïve. It’s just a matter of time.”

“Maybe. But I won’t rush to my death by letting you go now.”

“That’s fine.”

Ran focused her chakra and Kotone could feel the air take on an electrical charge. She let go of Ran’s wrist and took a few steps back.

“I should have time to play with you,” Ran said. “Orochimaru got himself into some trouble recently. I think Kabuto and Tsunade will have their hands full with that for now.”

Her chakra manifested abruptly in a white flash and took the form of a large beast made of crackling electricity. “It’s just you and me.”


	20. Wasted Efforts

Kotone tucked the scroll into a bag on her hip and pulled out a kunai, but the lightning beast was already charging forward. She jumped out of its way and threw the blade at Ran. Ran dodged and swung her arm around. The beast was connected to her hand and the movement made it double back so that it rushed at Kotone again, but it was too slow to catch her.

Kotone kept moving and stayed well out of its reach until Ran got frustrated enough to switch techniques, seamlessly dispelling the lightning beast and gliding through the hand signs for the false darkness technique without leaving an opening for Kotone to exploit. Electricity crackled around her hand again as concentrated chakra shot out from her palm. The lightning spear cut through the stone walls and floor like a laser, but though Ran could manipulate this technique more quickly, Kotone still managed to evade it.

_Ugh, damn, this little pest is quick._ Ran raised her left hand and another spear shot out. She brought her hands together, trying to catch Kotone between the two streams of energy.

There wasn’t enough space in the hallway. Kotone bumped into the wall behind her and quickly held her hands out toward the spears speeding toward her on either side. Two large panels of wood grew from her palms like shields, but the false darkness technique cut right through them. They splintered apart explosively but Kotone had anticipated that. She ducked under the two spears and they crossed over her head, tearing apart the wooden shields Kotone had abandoned.

_That was close,_ Kotone thought. She quickly backed away from Ran again and collided with something.

“Caught you.”

A shadow clone grabbed Kotone, pinning her arms to her sides. “No more running around; I’m done playing with you.”

The laser-like spear came at her again, but Kotone forced the clone’s arms away from her with wood that grew out directly from her body. She slipped out of its grasp and dove to the ground as the clone was sliced in half.

“Tch, I’ve got more where that came from,” Ran said. Another clone tackled Kotone just as she was getting to her feet again, but a moment later it vanished, dispelled by the kunai Kotone had stabbed into its chest. She scrambled to her feet again and ran, just barely keeping ahead of Ran’s technique. When another clone appeared in front of her, she readied her kunai again and kept moving without hesitation. Ran smirked as Kotone plowed into it, her blade thrust solidly into its chest.

Panic seized Kotone. _It’s not a shadow clone,_ she thought, her eyes wide. _It’s a lightning clone!_ She let go of the kunai immediately. At the same time, she reached her left hand toward Ran.

The electricity from the clone enveloped Kotone in the same moment that a heavy wooden branch slammed into Ran, catching her in the shoulder and pushing her back into the wall. The wood detached from Kotone’s hand and she collapsed, her whole body shuddering. Her right arm was completely numb and fresh blood was leaking into her eye from the cut on her forehead. _This… isn’t good,_ she thought. A sharp spasm jerked her body suddenly and she let out a weak cry, curling slightly on the floor.

Ran broke the wooden log apart and pushed away from the wall. “Pretty impressive,” she said, pressing against the shallow wound on her shoulder. “But it’s not good enough.”

She watched Kotone struggle to her feet and scowled. “I don’t get it. Why are you really trying to stop me? If you were worried about Orochimaru getting angry, you could have pretended you never saw me. I’m not your responsibility and there’s no way you would have even known I was leaving if you hadn’t come down those stairs when you did.”

“You want the real reason?” Kotone said, her voice weak. “I thought it would be much easier.” Before Ran could get insulted, Kotone went on. “The last time I saw you, you could barely stand up. I already know that Lord Orochimaru is hurt. I assumed you had just slipped away while Kabuto was distracted. I never imagined you would have made a full recovery like me.” She lowered her eyes. “Now it’s too late. I can’t hide these injuries and Kabuto will know where they came from. He’ll tell Lord Orochimaru…”

“So?” Ran said. “You tried to stop me but couldn’t. That’s not really your fault.”

Kotone laughed. “That sounds like a reasonable argument. Do you think Lord Orochimaru will listen?”

“Hm, not so naïve after all,” Ran muttered. “Fine. I guess you’re out of luck, wood user. Either I’m going to kill you here or Orochimaru will later, because you can’t stop me.”

Ran picked up one of Kotone’s discarded kunai. _She can barely stand anymore. I don’t need to waste any more chakra on her._ She charged forward without warning.

“Ah, shit!” Kotone gasped. She raised her left arm and a wooden shield grew, covering her forearm. The blade struck it and got stuck.

_I have to use this chance,_ Kotone thought. More wood grew out from the shield and twisted tightly around Ran’s arm. Then Kotone, forcing her right arm to move through mostly will alone, placed her palm on Ran’s chest, right above her heart.

_No!_ Ran tried to pull free, but Kotone held her ground and the wood did not give. In a panic, Ran raised her free arm and a long, thin, pointed crystal formed in her hand out of some instinct she didn’t know she possessed. She brought it down on Kotone immediately, stabbing it into her side before Kotone could manage to produce a branch to pierce Ran’s chest.

Blood rose to Kotone’s mouth and the wood holding Ran slowly morphed back into her hand. She staggered back with a weak cough and dropped to her knees before collapsing to the floor, the crystal protruding from her body.

“It’s perfect,” Ran murmured in awe. She was staring at her hand, a grin spreading over her face as she recalled the feeling of the chakra that had formed the crystal. “I can’t wait to find out what else I can do n–”

Her thoughts blurred suddenly then darkened to nothing. Her legs folded and Kabuto caught her over his arm.

“At least one thing worked out in my favor today,” he said. He glanced down at the blood slowly spreading across the stone floor and smiled.


	21. Interference

Kabuto had walked away from Tsunade’s and Orochimaru’s bedroom in a daze, unsure of where he was even going, his thoughts consumed with his oversight.

_I just can’t believe it. Was Tsunade really able to heal that wound? I need to know what she did but… she’ll never tell me._

_Orochimaru will expect me to know…_

He found himself outside the lab where he had left Ran, and sighed. _I don’t even know why this new experiment is so important to him. What is he trying to accomplish?_

Kabuto opened the door and felt a surge of adrenaline rush through him. Ran wasn’t there.

“What?” He ran to the table and looked more closely at the restraints. _These have been cut. Did someone let her out…?_

He turned to run from the room and his foot caught the edge of something on the floor. A pink crystal skittered across the stone with a ringing clatter and he bent to pick it up.

“She let herself out,” he muttered. _That’s worse. It means I screwed up again._ _I have to get her back._ He ran to the supply cabinet in the back of the lab and grabbed a prepared syringe before hurrying from the room, heading straight for the exit of the hideout.

Kabuto heard the sounds of fighting as he approached and slowed, moving more carefully. The stairway leading out of the hideout was just ahead and he crouched down to peer around the corner. Kotone was dodging and destroying clones of Ran in the hallway at the foot of the stairs. Then one of them was dispelled with a charge of electricity that sent Kotone crashing to the floor. At the same time, Ran was pushed back into the wall and Kabuto quickly ducked back around the corner, waiting to see what would happen and listening as they started to talk.

_So Kotone tried to stop her…_ he thought. _But it looks like she won’t be able to win._ He heard the fighting resume and looked around the corner again just in time to see Ran plunge the crystal pike into Kotone’s side.

Kabuto ran around the corner and stabbed the syringe into Ran’s arm before she even knew he was there. She collapsed and he caught her. Then he looked down at Kotone with a smile.

“At least one thing worked out in my favor today.” He pulled the empty syringe out of Ran’s arm and lowered her to the floor.

“So,” he said, kneeling next to Kotone. “You must have just gotten back.”

Kotone could not answer, but Kabuto wasn’t really addressing her anyway. He took the bag from her hip and pulled out the scroll. _At least she completed her assignment,_ he thought.

Kotone tried to speak but only managed a weak, wet cough. “Don’t worry,” Kabuto said, standing and looking down on her with a sinister grin, the light in the hallway reflecting off of his glasses and blocking his eyes. “I’ll be sure to deliver this to Lord Orochimaru for you. Thanks for your hard work.”

He picked Ran up and carried her away, leaving Kotone on the floor.


	22. Desperation

Jiraiya rushed down the stairs into Orochimaru’s hideout. _I hope she made it back okay. I’ve got a bad feeling…_

He saw the light reflecting off of the crystal spear first and slowed down, but when Kotone came into view he jumped the last of the steps to get to her.

“Kotone!” Jiraiya dropped to his knees and reached out, but froze with his hand outstretched. _No. I shouldn’t move her. But I can’t–_

“Tsunade!” Jiraiya shouted. His voice echoed down the hall but he had no idea if Tsunade would hear it. Frustrated and desperate, he bit into his thumb and smeared the blood across his palm before slamming his hand to the floor.

_I can’t leave her…_

Four toads appeared in the hallway with a loud bang. Gamakichi was at the front of the group and he spotted Kotone immediately.

“Hey, is that–?”

“Find Tsunade,” Jiraiya said, cutting him off. “She’s got to be somewhere around here.”

“But where _is_ here?” Gamatatsu asked in his slow, high-pitched drawl. “It’s creepy.”

“Just get going!” Jiraiya shouted, causing all four toads to flinch.

“Okay, okay! Come on, Gamatatsu. Let’s go this way.” Gamakichi and Gamatatsu hurried off down one hallway and Gamariki and Kōsuke went down another without a word.

 

It was Gamakichi who found Tsunade shortly after he and Gamatatsu split up deeper inside of the hideout. He was in such a hurry that he sprang past the open door to Orochimaru’s and Tsunade’s bedroom without stopping, but Tsunade had seen him go by. She slid very carefully out of the bed and went to the door, looking out into the hallway where Gamakichi had skidded to a stop after realizing his mistake. He turned back and rushed past her once again, this time shouting, “Follow me! Hurry! It’s Kotone!”

Tsunade immediately closed the door to the bedroom and ran after the large toad. “What happened?” she asked as she caught up and they both flew around a corner and back toward the hideout’s entrance.

“I don’t know,” Gamakichi said. “Just hurry; it looks bad!”

“You’re too slow; just tell me where she is!” Tsunade shouted.

“Ah–! Uh, they were by some stairs I think–” he answered. Then Tsunade was gone, taking off at top speed toward the entranceway.

 

Jiraiya was sitting on the floor next to Kotone, clutching her hand tightly. Tsunade ran up beside him but stopped short of the pool of blood on the floor, cursing herself. The trembling had already started and she had to force herself to speak. “What happened?” she managed.

“Does it matter? You have to help her!” Jiraiya said, turning toward her expectantly.

Tsunade shook her head, trying to clear her mind, but she didn’t move any closer. Jiraiya stood and grabbed her hand. “What are you waiting for?” He pulled her forward but she snatched her hand away from him without thinking and backed away. She could feel cool, wet blood on her hand where Jiraiya had grabbed her and she clutched at the hem of her jacket as the tremors worsened.

Gamakichi slid around the corner right behind Tsunade and skidded to a stop, staring up at her back. “What’s the problem?” he said loudly.

“Go find the others,” Jiraiya told him. “Then all of you just get out of here.”

“R-Right,” Gamakichi muttered. He hurried away again and Jiraiya moved toward Tsunade, grabbing her shoulders with more force than he meant to.

“Wake up, Tsunade,” he said sharply. “Kotone is dying; is that not enough?!”

“Enough?” Tsunade muttered.

“For you to overcome this!” Jiraiya shouted in frustration. “I know how you work, Tsunade. You don’t let this stop you when it matters. I thought you were her friend!”

“Shut up!” Tsunade backed out of his grasp and pressed her back to the wall, wrapping her arms around herself as she tried to block him out. Her eyes were shut tight but she felt herself being pulled forward again. Jiraiya moved behind her and pushed her toward Kotone.

“Look at her, Tsunade!” he yelled. “Why are you letting her die?” He gave her one last shove and she opened her eyes instinctively as she staggered forward. Kotone was right in front of her and Tsunade dropped to her knees at her side.

_She needs me…_ She glanced down at her shaking hands but had to look away again. _She needs me, dammit! Come on; get a grip!_

“Tsunade–!”

“Dammit, Jiraiya, I said shut up! You’re not helping, so why don’t you just back off!” She reached out nervously and placed her hand on Kotone’s side where the crystal had penetrated. She began healing around the crystal, aiming to minimize the damage that removing it would cause, but she hesitated to take hold of the weapon. Her hands were still shaking.

_But it has to come out,_ she thought. “I’m sorry, Kotone,” Tsunade murmured. She reached for the crystal but Jiraiya’s hand closed around it before she could touch it.

“Let me help,” he said.

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief and nodded. “Slowly,” she told him, and she pressed both of her hands to Kotone’s side, healing her as Jiraiya steadily drew the crystal from Kotone’s body. Fresh blood flowed over Tsunade’s hands as it came free and she cursed herself for her clumsy, unfocused efforts. Her mind kept flashing back to that night in the rain and tears gathered in her eyes. _I don’t want that again,_ she thought, desperately trying to suppress the memory and her trembling. _Not again. Not like that. Please…_

“L-Lady Tsunade…?”

Tsunade gasped, pulled from her thoughts by the faint sound. Kotone’s eyes were open just slightly, but they seemed unfocused. Still, her hand moved up slowly to cover Tsunade’s and she spoke again, her lips barely moving and the words softer than a whisper.

“You’re shaking… am I… going to die?”

“No!” Tsunade said immediately, but she remembered telling Dan the same and the agony on her face betrayed her lack of confidence.

“It’s… okay…” Kotone muttered. “I’m…” Her voice faded as her strength gave out and her eyes closed again.

“Kotone!” Jiraiya grasped her hand tightly but she did not respond.

“No, dammit, it’s not okay!” Tsunade shouted. “Do you hear me, Kotone? I said you’re not gonna die!”

She focused on the wound and closed her eyes, but this time it was not out of fear. She imagined each of the damaged organs and concentrated on the varying cellular structures, mending them one by one. After several minutes, she finally eased back and took her hands away from the wound. The bleeding had finally stopped and Kotone’s breathing had become more regular though she still would not wake.

Jiraiya never took his eyes from Kotone. “Is she all right?” he asked. He finally looked up when Tsunade didn’t answer. She had drawn her knees up to her chest and hidden her face behind her arms.

“Tsunade,” he said desperately. “Is she all right?”

“Yes,” Tsunade answered, her voice quiet.

Jiraiya let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a moment, his tense muscles finally relaxing. With Kotone safe, he turned his attention more fully on Tsunade. She was covered in Kotone’s blood and shivering where she sat.

“Tsunade… I can’t ignore this anymore. When you chose to come back to the village… _That’s_ when you should have stopped running. I thought you had. And now that you’re _here…_ ” His hand went out to Kotone and he touched her face lightly. “It’s a much more dangerous life… You have to–”

“Give it a _rest,_ Jiraiya. I don’t need it from you, too.”

He was quiet for a few moments but decided to let it go. _It sounds like Orochimaru’s already on this one,_ he thought. _That can’t be easy._ He decided to change the subject.

“Is there somewhere she can rest?” Jiraiya asked.

“…Yeah.” Tsunade stood slowly and Jiraiya carefully lifted Kotone in his arms and followed her through the hideout to Kotone’s room.


	23. Understanding

Kabuto took Ran to a lab near the room where the crystals were grown and laid her on a table. After quickly treating the injury on her shoulder he went to the room and removed the most recently completed crystal from its container. A black cord was lying on the table nearby and he took it and the crystal back to the lab.

Ran would be unconscious for a few more hours, so he tied the crystal and put it around her neck as Orochimaru had done each time before. Then he sat down at a nearby table and took out the scroll Kotone had retrieved, unrolling it over the desk and examining its contents.

An hour later, Orochimaru came to the lab. He glanced over Ran, taking note of the blood on her shoulder and the crystal around her neck. “It seems you’ve been hard at work,” Orochimaru said quietly. “What happened?”

Kabuto stood and went to his side. “She tried to run. Kotone got involved.”

“Oh? Is she dead?” Orochimaru asked with a smirk.

“I don’t know. I left it to Tsunade so I could continue with the experiment for you and start researching your wound.” _Although,_ he thought smugly. _With any luck, she won’t find her in time, and even if she does, with that amount of blood she won’t be able to do anything._

_Lord Orochimaru will finally see how pointless it is to have her around._

“Hm.” Orochimaru turned and went to the door. “Where is she?”

“They might still be by the entrance,” Kabuto said.

Orochimaru left the lab and made his way to the stairwell. No one was there, but the floor was covered with blood and the crystal spear lay at his feet.

_Tsunade… Did she…?_ He went straight back to the lab – to the table where Ran lay unconscious.

“How long has she been wearing the crystal?” Orochimaru asked.

“Only an hour or so,” Kabuto said. “The drug should wear off in another few hours as well.”

“…That’s fine,” Orochimaru muttered. His body still felt heavy and his mind was sluggish. He suspected that he had woken up too soon and was not fully recovered, but too much was happening now to worry about that.

“Watch her carefully, Kabuto. I can’t have her running off again,” he said.

“Of course, Lord Orochimaru.”

 

Orochimaru slowly made his way down to the showers, hoping to take some time to clear his mind. He heard the water running as he approached and came around the corner to see Tsunade’s silhouette behind the curtain. His eyes were drawn down to a bundle on the floor – he clothes lying by the wall, soaked through with blood.

The water turned off and he looked up again but Tsunade did not move. She just stood for a few moments, her head bowed, water dripping off of her as she stared at the floor. She didn’t even notice Orochimaru at first when she finally stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself. When she spotted him, she stopped and stared. “Orochimaru…”

He stared back at her, unmoving. Her eyes were red. Dark circles had set in under them and her posture and pale complexion suggested a deep exhaustion. He had only seen her so worn-down once before, and it wasn’t something he liked to remember.

When he didn’t move, Tsunade stepped forward and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer with no real force and wrapping her arms around him. She hid her face against his shoulder and he hesitantly held her in return.

For a long time, she just clung to him in silence, but when she finally spoke, her voice was strong and steady, and it put Orochimaru at ease.

“You shouldn’t be up yet,” she said. “That wound was serious. You shouldn’t strain yourself.”

“I know,” Orochimaru answered. “I have something I need to do. I’ll rest after that, but you should worry about yourself now. You haven’t slept at all, have you.” Tsunade shook her head. “Go,” he said, stepping back from her slightly. “I’ll be there soon.”

Tsunade moved away from him and put on the change of clothes she had brought with her, moving mechanically, her mind elsewhere entirely. When she was dressed Orochimaru guided her over to the door, but she stopped.

“Kotone…” she mumbled, as though just remembering. “I should talk to her.”

“That can wait,” Orochimaru said but Tsunade didn’t move. He gave up easily, too weary himself to argue. “All right. Go talk to her. But after that, you have to rest.”

“She hasn’t woken up yet…”

“Tsunade,” Orochimaru sighed. “You’re not making any sense. Just go get some sleep.” He brought his hand up to gently raise her head and gave her a soft kiss. “Now,” he ordered.

Tsunade gave a slight nod, her eyes still distant, and left the room. Orochimaru glanced again at the bloodstained clothes on the floor.

_So… she was able to heal her,_ he thought. He took off his clothes and stepped into the shower, turning on the water and letting it run over his face. _I think I’m starting to understand, Tsunade._


	24. Recovery

Tsunade woke suddenly after only a few hours.

_Dammit, how long have I been here? Kotone…_ She got up quickly and hurried to the door but stopped abruptly to look back at the bed.

_Orochimaru… didn’t come back._ She shook her head. _He’ll be all right. I need to check on Kotone._

Tsunade went to Kotone’s room and opened the door without warning, causing Jiraiya to jump to his feet. He’d been sitting on the floor next to Kotone’s bed ever since they’d brought her back to her room, but she had never woken up.

“Where have you been–?” Jiraiya asked but Tsunade cut him off.

“What are you still doing here?” Her voice automatically dropped to a hushed tone as she quickly closed the door. “If Orochimaru finds out–”

“You know I wouldn’t leave her like this,” he answered, not matching her cautious attitude.

Tsunade went to the bed and sat next to Kotone. She pulled the blanket back and laid her hand on Kotone’s side to check the damage again. “How did this happen anyway?” Tsunade murmured.

“I don’t know. I found her like that, right at the bottom of the stairs.”

Tsunade looked up at him. “She was in the hideout? But then why… were you…?”

“I went on a mission with Kakashi’s team to keep an eye on them. Make sure they didn’t get too close to actually finding you,” Jiraiya explained. “Kotone was at one of the other hideouts and they caught her coming out. She was fine after I helped her get away, but I was worried so I came to make sure she made it back all right.”

Tsunade was quiet, lost in thought even as she started to heal Kotone’s wound again. She had done a poor job the first time around, but it had been enough to save her.

_But what about next time…?_

“Nn…” Kotone’s eyes opened slightly. “What happened…?”

Tsunade let out a sigh. “I’m glad you’re awake,” she said. “You… lost a lot of blood.”

Kotone closed her eyes again as she recalled the end of her fight with Ran. “Ugh, I can’t believe she beat me,” she groaned.

“What happened?” Jiraiya asked, hovering just behind Tsunade.

“Ah… I, uh… got into another fight,” Kotone said sheepishly. “One of Lord Orochimaru’s test subjects. She was trying to escape. And then Kabuto…” Kotone gasped and sat up suddenly, but she winced and fell back again a second later. Tsunade quickly pressed down harder on Kotone’s side, chakra flaring briefly to keep the wound from reopening.

“Ugh… that bastard…” Kotone groaned. “He was there. He stopped her and took the scroll and he just left me there!”

Tsunade froze. _Kabuto…_ she thought. _He’s gone too far this time._ She finished her work on Kotone’s wound and carefully pulled the blanket back over her though Kotone squirmed a little, uncomfortable with so much personal attention. _She would have died if Jiraiya hadn’t found her,_ Tsunade thought furiously. _What the hell is he thinking?_

“Lady Tsunade,” Kotone muttered, interrupting her thoughts. “Is… Lord Orochimaru angry… that I didn’t stop her…?”

Tsunade considered that for a few moments. She wasn’t even sure if Orochimaru knew what had happened yet. “Don’t worry,” she said finally. “He might actually be pleased that you tried to stop her without being told.” Kotone relaxed but Tsunade wasn’t finished. “I, on the other hand, think you should have left it alone.” Her tone was sharp and Kotone cringed, but a moment later Tsunade sighed. “You had me worried, kid.”

“But… I’m just–” Kotone started

Tsunade became instantly sharp again. “Kotone,” she said, making her flinch. “You need to stop thinking like that. You’re not just an experiment. Okay?”

Kotone smiled a little. “Okay,” she said, mostly for Tsunade’s sake.

Tsunade stood. “Good. Now get some rest. I’m going to go check on Orochimaru. Just try to stay out of trouble for a little while, all right–?” She glanced back as she went to the door and saw that Jiraiya had gone to sit by Kotone’s side the moment Tsunade had moved. She sighed.

_I didn’t see anything,_ Tsunade told herself. She closed the door as she left.

Kotone closed her eyes, but her hand found Jiraiya’s and held it tight. “At least… Lord Orochimaru’s not angry,” she said quietly.

“Kotone…”

Kotone’s free hand went to her side. The pain was dull now, just another memory. “I’m okay,” she assured him. _Thank you, Lady Tsunade_.


	25. The Last Subject

Ran sat up, feeling slightly groggy. “Ugh, what happened?” Her hand went automatically to her shoulder but it hardly hurt anymore. She looked down at it, confused, and the crystal around her neck caught her eye.

“Not this again.” She grabbed it, about to pull it off when Orochimaru stepped up to her. Ran hesitated.

_Last time it didn’t do anything to me. Actually, it felt like it helped me. Maybe… I can use it._ She stood and faced Orochimaru.

“You want me to test it again, right? Fine.” Ran sped through the hand signs and touched the crystal. Immediately she felt chakra rush into her body. _He’s injured,_ she thought. _This is my chance!_

Without warning, she created a lightning clone and it leapt at Orochimaru as Ran started a new set of hand signs. Orochimaru sensed the nature of the clone just in time to keep himself from destroying it, but instead it collided with him and he crashed to the floor with the clone on top of him.

Deep set instinct had Orochimaru immediately sinking into the stone without much conscious thought, but it was the first time he had attempted to mold chakra since the last crystal had shattered. His grasp on the technique faltered, forcing him to resurface only seconds later, right beside the clone.

Ran had already completed her next jutsu and lightning chakra for the false darkness technique flashed in her hand. Orochimaru reached up from the floor and called forth several snakes but Ran sliced through them easily. The clone leapt on him again.

_She’s trying to force me to destroy it. Fine._ He pushed his foot against the clone’s torso and shoved it back, careful to use only enough force to move it away from him. Then, undaunted by his impaired chakra control, he formed the hand signs for a fire technique and engulfed the clone in an intense blaze. It sparked and snapped in the flames before vanishing harmlessly.

As his technique burned out, Orochimaru felt a strange pulse creep through him. Pressure was building in his chest, squeezing his lungs, and his body folded as blood rose in his throat.

Ran smirked. _I knew it._ She swung her arm, bringing the concentrated lightning down on Orochimaru, but he slipped away and shot across the floor toward Ran. His body stretched and he wrapped himself around her, cutting off her technique and squeezing the air from her lungs. An arm slid up toward Ran’s neck, but before he could wrap it around her throat he felt electricity building in her body. As quickly as he had attacked, Orochimaru withdrew, releasing her in a second and putting some distance between them.

_She can channel her chakra through every part of her body at once, even with the change in nature,_ he thought, only mildly surprised. _I can’t risk direct contact carelessly._ He tried to ready himself for her next attack and abruptly discovered that his body would not move. The slow, unnatural pulse had returned, reaching out into his limbs and seizing his muscles.

Ran rushed forward, but still Orochimaru’s body would not respond. _It can’t be helped,_ he thought. He forced his chakra to gather but the resistance was immense, even as he formed the hand signs he normally would not have needed. He completed the final seal just as Ran brought her attack down on him slicing deep into his shoulder. At the same time that the false darkness connected, Orochimaru shed his body, leaving an empty shell behind to take the blow.

_This has gone on long enough._ He appeared behind Ran, moving much more quickly now, and grabbed her head. With a sharp twist and a crack, Ran’s neck was broken before she even knew Orochimaru was behind her.

Orochimaru reached around and took the crystal from around her neck and let the body fall. It hit the ground heavily then erupted in blue flames and Orochimaru scoffed, stepping back to watch it burn.

_I had actually forgotten she was an ANBU. How very young she must have been. Barely an ANBU and certainly not part of the Root division. I’m sure she had only been recruited by Danzō after the shift in power. Were Leaf ninja always so mediocre?_ He sighed in disappointment and looked down at the light blue crystal in his hand as it shone with the bright reflection of the firelight.

_Well, never mind. I got what I wanted._


	26. Payback

Tsunade stormed down the hallway and threw open the door to Kabuto’s room. He had heard her approaching and turned calmly from the scrolls lying open on his desk, but his cruel smile could not hide his irritation. He had been analyzing his data, trying to determine how Tsunade had managed to heal Orochimaru’s wound, and her sudden interruption only twisted the knife in his wounded pride.

“What are you doing here?” Kabuto asked, turning his back on her again.

Tsunade didn’t answer. Instead, she walked into the room, grabbed Kabuto out of his chair by the back of his shirt collar, and slammed him face-first into the wall beside his desk.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Kabuto shouted, struggling against her powerful grip as she pressed him harder against the stone. She quickly slipped a hand under his shirt and moved her fingers down his spine. Kabuto felt a small shock snap under his skin and Tsunade jumped back as he took a swipe at her with a razor-sharp chakra scalpel.

For a moment, Kabuto stood very still, remembering the time Tsunade had short-circuited his nervous system, but he quickly realized this was not the same. Still, he felt uneasy. His body was aching from being forced against the wall, but the pain seemed too strong for such a small amount of damage. Focused on this enigma, Kabuto did not react quickly enough when Tsunade stepped closer and flicked him in the forehead. He shot backwards into the wall with a crack then dropped to his knees, doubled over with pain, his hands clasped over his forehead.

“Wh-What did you do?” he choked through gritted teeth.

Tsunade crouched in front of him, smirking. “This is what happens when you start thinking you get to decide who lives and who dies around here.” She picked him up again by his shirt and he flinched, but she only set him gently on his feet.

“The technique I used on you _should_ wear off eventually,” she said. “But until then I’d be very, _very_ careful if I were you.”

Kabuto leveled her with a steady glare, but his body was trembling. Tsunade smiled. She reached toward him again and he raised the chakra scalpel again, but Tsunade grabbed his arm tightly and twisted it up behind his back. He cried out, the pain exploding in his mind, and Tsunade kicked his feet out from under him and let him drop. Even the impact from the insignificant fall cut through him like a shockwave. He stayed down and Tsunade walked away.


	27. Gift

The body shedding technique had wiped away the residual damage from the flawed crystal, but Orochimaru was more careful as he ran the final tests on the newest one. Gradually, over several days, he and Kabuto used test subjects to try every combination of different chakras and recipients until Orochimaru was satisfied.

He noticed that Kabuto was acting strangely, moving cautiously and behaving as though something might jump out of the shadows and attack him at any moment. However, as it did not get in the way of the experiment, Orochimaru ignored it and Kabuto stayed silent, afraid that Tsunade and Kotone would reveal his attempt to leave Kotone for dead if he did not.

The results of the tests were perfect, and once they were finished Orochimaru fashioned the blue crystal into a necklace and held it up to the light, an amused smirk on his face.

 

A day later Orochimaru found Tsunade in their bedroom.

“Hello, hime,” he said smoothly, pulling her over for a kiss. “I have something for you.” He pulled out the necklace and held it up for her to see. Tsunade froze.

“Wh-What did you do?” she stammered, staring.

“I’m just trying to help you, Tsunade.” He slipped the necklace around her neck without ever looking away from her petrified gaze. “It’s not your grandfather’s,” he said once the crystal was resting against her chest.

Tsunade blinked. “What?”

“It’s something different.”

Orochimaru stepped back and Tsunade looked down at the crystal, turning it over carefully in her fingers. He had made it into an almost identical necklace, but the crystal’s shape was more uniform and…

“It feels different,” Tsunade murmured.

“It should. I’ve been wearing it all day.”

She looked up. “What?”

“The crystal takes in chakra and stores it as a reserve.”

“But… why?” She stared again at the pendent in her hand. “The Yin seal–”

“Can’t be used for anyone except you,” Orochimaru said. “But this…”

Tsunade’s eyes widened in understanding. “How did you do this?” she asked, a familiar sense of admiration rising up.

He shrugged. “Trial and error.”

_Heh, like it’s no big deal._ Tsunade smiled. _This is incredible._ Then an unpleasant thought occurred to her. “Orochimaru… that wound…”

“It’s fine, Tsunade. I told you, the body shedding technique–”

“You did something stupid, didn’t you?” Tsunade continued, narrowing her eyes at him. “You got that wound from your ‘trial and error.’”

“I’ll admit, I may have been too eager,” he said, still smiling.

“And you wouldn’t tell me what had happened,” she added, shoving him lightly.

“I think you’re pleased,” Orochimaru said, clearly amused.

“I think you’re crazy!” Tsunade laughed. She pulled him closer and kissed him again. “Thank you, Orochimaru.”

 

Tsunade lay awake that night, holding the crystal and listening to Orochimaru’s steady breathing as he slept beside her. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the smooth, cool facets beneath her fingers and found herself smiling again. It gave her comfort.

_It feels different,_ she remembered saying, and she remembered Orochimaru’s answer: _“I’ve been wearing it all day.”_

_It feels different,_ she thought again, _because it feels like him._ She clutched the crystal tighter as another thought slowly formed, and she realized for the first time why her grandfather’s necklace had been so important to her. _He wore it,_ she thought. _And Nawaki, and Dan… It wasn’t just a keepsake. It held a part of them… Still holds a part of them._

For a moment, she felt a deep regret at giving something so precious away, but as she held the new crystal to her chest, she calmed. _No, it’s better this way. It would have felt wrong, having that crystal here._

Tsunade inched closer to Orochimaru and rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart. The small smile returned and she quickly drifted off to sleep.


	28. Even

Kotone was well enough to be back on her feet before long, and Orochimaru put her to work again right away. Tsunade hovered nearby as much as possible. She wanted to try to cheer Kotone up since Tsunade had been the one to insist on Jiraiya leaving and she was still feeling guilty over her inability to properly treat Kotone’s wounds when she had first found her.

Tsunade was heading through the hallways of the hideout for just that reason when she passed by her and Orochimaru’s bedroom. The door was closed and she paused in front of it. _That’s odd…_ she thought. She opened it and looked around. No one was there.

Without thinking about it, she headed off down the hall. She turned down a hallway she couldn’t remember having seen before and followed it to the end where a door was standing slightly ajar. Without hesitation, she pushed it open and stepped inside.

The scene before her could have come straight from her nightmares. Orochimaru and Kabuto were both on the ground. Blood covered the floor around them and a sword was protruding from Kabuto’s chest. Neither was moving and Tsunade could easily see that Kabuto was already dead, his eyes open but dull and unseeing.

She took a shaky step toward Orochimaru and her legs folded under her.

_Not again,_ she thought desperately and her body trembled. _How can this be happening again? What is going on?_ She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them again, hoping that when she did she’d be able to ignore the blood that immobilized her, but it only got worse the longer she sat there.

_Get up,_ she told herself. _Kabuto’s dead. You have to save Orochimaru. Get up!_ She pushed herself forward and stumbled forward a few steps only to fall again at Orochimaru’s side. He was still breathing, but he was hurt and bleeding badly.

_I can do this,_ Tsunade told herself as she reached out a shaking hand. Her fingers just brushed the warm, wet blood at Orochimaru’s side and she gritted her teeth against a violent tremor. With a wrenching force of will, she kept her eyes open and pressed first one palm then the other carefully against the worst of his wounds.

_I saved Kotone,_ she told herself firmly. _I can. I can do this–_

She blinked and suddenly she was standing just inside the doorway of the bedroom. Orochimaru was standing in front of her.

_…It was a genjutsu,_ she thought. _Of course it was a genjutsu._

“You did well,” Orochimaru said, moving forward to kiss her head lightly. “Do you still want to quit?”

“No,” she answered quickly. “No, I want to fix this. I feel like I can.”

Orochimaru smirked. “Good. And after that, maybe you should have Kotone give you some tips on playing poker. You won’t accept my bets anymore if you know you can’t beat me.”

“I – what?” She thought back to their game and almost gasped. “You knew exactly what you were doing!” she half-shouted. “Who taught you how to play? It was Kotone, wasn’t it?!”

Orochimaru laughed quietly. “I think you’ll forgive her, Tsunade.”

“Yeah,” Tsunade said easily. “But not you. You owe me.”

“Is that so?” He pulled her closer with an arm around her waist and gently touched the crystal still resting at her chest. “I gave you such a lovely gift and I’m helping you overcome your fear. I think–”

“Fine,” Tsunade cut him off, pressing closer and tugging him down slightly by the front of his shirt to kiss him. She held on to him tightly, letting the feel of him wash away the images she’d seen in the genjutsu. “We’ll call it even.”


	29. Bonus Chapter - Poker

Kotone’s face was calm, sympathetic, and she spoke in a soft, even tone. “Lady Tsunade, I want you to know that you’re my best friend, and I love you, but honestly a squirrel could play a better hand of poker.” She laid her cards on the table and Tsunade stared over at them before throwing her own cards down with a disgruntled groan. Kotone nearly overturned her chair, overwhelmed with raucous laughter.

“I need a drink,” Tsunade grumbled, pushing her chair back from the table and heading for the door.

“You won’t find any!” Kotone called after her in a singsong voice, rocking back on the edges of her chair legs with her hands folded behind her head. Tsunade ignored her and disappeared into the hallway. Kotone shook her head. “Too bad, Lady Tsunade,” she said to no one in particular as she swept the cards and the money on the table into a neat little pile in front of her.

A glimpse of grey and purple passed by the open door and Kotone grinned. “Hey, Kabuto, care for a game?” she called. She quickly extracted the ace of spades from the pile and held it up next to her cheek as Kabuto paused in the hallway and stepped back to look inside the room.

“Don’t you have to work to do?” he scolded, glancing from the toothy grin still plastered on her face to the treasure hoard she’d accumulated on the table.

“Not right this minute,” Kotone said lightly. “Come on; take a seat.”

“No thanks.” Kabuto started on his way again, ignoring Kotone’s voice as it echoed down the hallway after him.

“Aw, come on! Don’t be intimidated! The score will be one-to-nothing forever if you never try again!”

His eyes flashed with irritation as he recalled the one time he’d played against her, arrogantly assuming he’d win with ease, and had be thoroughly trounced. He wasn’t stupid enough to try it again. He kept walking.

Kotone leaned back in her chair again and flicked the black ace back into her pile with a sigh. “I wonder if it would be worth the scathing indifference and condescension to ask Sasuke to play…” she muttered to herself. She was running out of opponents. Apparently Kabuto had learned his lesson and intended to never play again, Tsunade was so easy to beat it could hardly be called a game, and even Jiraiya, she had recently discovered, had his tells once she knew what to look for. _Maybe it’s time to try a different game,_ she thought idly.

“Hello, Kotone.”

Kotone let out a yelp and overbalanced her chair, toppling over and sending a handful of cards and coins over the edge of the table and onto the floor. “L-Lord Orochimaru!” she half gasped, quickly dragging herself upright again and looking up at him from the floor. “I… I, uh… hi.” She mentally slapped her palm to her forehead before getting a hold of herself and quickly rising to her feet. “Did you, um, need something?” she asked.

“Yes.” He went to the chair opposite hers and sat down at the table, then stared at her, unblinking, until she realized she was supposed to sit down as well. She hurried to right her chair and sat stiffly under his unyielding gaze.

“I want you to teach me how to play poker,” he said.

Kotone blinked. “You what?” she said flatly without thinking. His face did not change, but Kotone’s eyes widened as she realized she’d spoken out loud. “No! I mean, uh, I think I misheard you!”

“Then what did you think I said?” he asked, the corner of his mouth turning up just slightly in a faint smirk.

“Uh…”

“Teach me how to play poker,” he said again. He reached across the table and Kotone froze, her heart thudding painfully hard and fast, but he only selected a card from the top of her pile.

“O-Okay,” she said, breathing a quiet sigh of relief. She quickly gathered the cards from the floor, separated the rest from her winnings, and straightened out the deck. When she was done, Orochimaru slowly slid the card he’d taken across the table to her. She stared down at the ace of spades under his finger and swallowed nervously.

“There’s no reason to be so anxious,” he said, his smirk fully obvious now as he watched her slip the ace back into the deck and shuffle the cards. “Now then, start at the beginning.”

Kotone tapped the edge of the deck lightly on the table and was about to deal but she stopped. “…Can I ask you something first?” she said hesitantly.

Orochimaru leaned back in his chair. His smirk had faded but he didn’t seem angry. “You can try.”

“Am… Am I seriously… supposed to teach you how to play _poker?_ Like, I explain the rules and you ask questions and then we… _play poker._ You and me. Like a game.”

“Unless you have a better way of teaching me,” Orochimaru said.

_Are you gonna get pissed if I win? Should I throw the game? Are there gonna be stakes? Are you even fucking serious right now?_ Kotone stared back at Orochimaru, her face perfectly blank as her thoughts rampaged. After a few quiet moments she simply said, “Okay.”

Kotone dealt the cards, explaining in drastic detail everything she could think of that might be important to know before playing a hand – the number of cards in the deck, the suits, the values, the number of cards dealt, what beats what, even the significance of being the dealer depending on what kind of game one was playing. Orochimaru listened silently, his face giving absolutely nothing away, and she hoped she was not somehow digging herself into a hole with each instruction or explanation.

“…And… that should pretty much cover everything,” she finished, casting a surreptitious glance at Orochimaru from across the table. She was so tense and nervous she was practically shaking but still Orochimaru just sat, his arms folded, quietly observing the cards laid out on the table. She nearly jumped out of her seat when he finally spoke.

“Good,” he said. “Deal the cards.”

“Sh-Should… uh… J-Just a practice round, right?” she stammered.

He raised an eyebrow. “What exactly makes it practice?”

“Well, I mean, you don’t want to actually play with stakes or anything… right?”

The grin that suddenly overtook Orochimaru’s features was nothing short of terrifying. Kotone’s face went white. “Tell me, Kotone,” he said, his voice smooth and alluring. “If you could ask anything of me… anything at all… what would it be?”

_For you to stop_ looking _at me like that!_ Kotone thought immediately, but she didn’t answer. She felt slightly stunned, not sure if she would be able to speak even if she could come up with something to say. It eventually occurred to her that she’d probably have to say something, but the only thing she was sure of was that there was no right answer. Then something clicked in her mind and she felt herself relax. Orochimaru watched, fascinated, as her demeanor suddenly changed and she began calmly dealing out the cards and distributing the poker chips that had been lying off to the side, unused in her game with Tsunade. “The actual betting is important, so we can just use chips for now,” she said.

Orochimaru smirked. “Are you ignoring my question, Kotone?”

“No,” she answered, meeting his gaze head on. “But if you were asking because you want to make an actual bet with me, there really isn’t any point.”

The smirk widened again into a grin, but it was somehow less predatory now. “Oh? Why is that?”

“Because there’s nothing I can put up against any offer you make that you couldn’t just take anyway,” she said simply. “And that’s no fun.”

Orochimaru watched Kotone’s face for a few moments before glancing down at his cards. He pushed a few chips to the center of the table, waited for Kotone to do the same, then selected two of his cards and slid them over to her. “I’ll take two.”

The game continued mostly in silence until they both revealed their hands. Kotone laid out a straight, not sure if she should be feeling good about it or not and still wondering if she should have thrown the game. Then Orochimaru put his cards on the table – another straight – his five through nine beating Kotone’s four through eight.

Orochimaru leaned back in his chair. “You’re better than I thought,” he observed.

“You _just learned_ how to play. What gives? Wait, you know what, don’t answer that. But geez, what a waste that you haven’t been playing all along!” She glanced at Orochimaru and started slightly at the peculiar look he was giving her. “Oh! Um… I didn’t–” _Wait, did I actually say anything wrong this time?_

“You did well, Kotone,” Orochimaru said, gathering the cards from the table and shuffling them like he’d been doing it all his life. “Is there anything I should know before I try playing Tsunade?”

Kotone laughed before she could stop herself. “No, I think you’ll be fine.”

He was watching her carefully again. “Is she really that bad?” he asked with the most genuine curiosity Kotone had ever seen from him.

“Let’s just say she’s extremely unlucky,” she answered.

Orochimaru laughed. “Yes, I suppose she is. Well, at least this should be interesting.” Without another word, he got up and left the room and Kotone slumped forward onto the table with a relieved sigh she hadn’t realized she’d been holding in. Dragging herself up again slightly, she propped her chin in her hand and glanced down at the deck Orochimaru had left on the table.

“I have no idea what just happened…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, that's the end of Blood and Crystals. I guess I should have mentioned sooner, but this bonus chapter actually takes place before chapter one of this story. 
> 
> Next up in this series is called Culmination, because, like an idiot, I thought it would be the final one. I was WRONG. But that's okay. Since it was intended as such, it does have an sense of finality to it (and I freaking hate titles so yeah right I'm gonna name it AGAIN). 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy :) Thanks for reading!
> 
> ~DS


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